Struggling to be Honest
by SehunsBae37
Summary: The wedding is drawing near and Bella is having a hard time coming to terms with it while she worries about Jacob's whereabouts. And all the while she keeps trying to convince herself she's doing the right thing. It isn't until the wedding when Jacob finally returns and asks Bella one last time: "Is this what you really want?" Set during BD.
1. Chapter 1

Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 1

Bella lay in her bed that night facing away from the window. She couldn't sleep, as her mind refused to settle. She should be feeling alright seeing as she didn't have to worry about Victoria anymore and Jacob was fully healed after being crushed by the newborn. But that was the object of her worry, Jacob Black.

It had nearly killed her to leave him there that night in pain, physically and emotionally, as she told him she didn't love him enough to give up Edward. But the kicker was when Edward had sent the Black family a wedding invitation without her consent. It was almost as if her fiancé was rubbing it in Jacob's face that he lost. Bella had never been so furious with Edward. And when she had rushed to the Reservation to talk to her best friend, she was sad to find him missing. Neither Billy nor the pack knew where he was. He had been gone so long that Charlie was forced to put up signs with Jacob's picture around town asking **Have You Seen This Boy?** When she had returned home later that evening, she found Edward waiting in her room in her rocking chair. Fury got the best of her and she yelled at her fiancé for the first time, kicking him out and telling him he was not allowed to see her until the wedding. Of course this didn't stop him from continuously calling and texting her. When she hadn't answered he started sending her an overabundance of gifts, much to Charlie's annoyance.

Bella sighed as she rolled over onto her back and lifted up her arm to look at her charm bracelet that Jacob made for her. On it hung the carved wolf he had made for her as a reminder of him, and a diamond heart that Edward had attached to it as well. She remembered when Edward saw the bracelet and his annoyance. But when Jacob in turn saw the diamond heart, he was furious. And her trying to justify it did little to calm him down. But now that Jacob was gone, the bracelet felt heavier than ever, and the engagement ring on her finger seemed to weigh her down. Bella felt as if a part of her was missing and nothing she did could fill the void. Almost like when Edward and the Cullen family left, but so much worse. But she'd never admit this because she didn't want to upset people anymore.

Sitting up in bed she ran a hand through her hair in frustration. She couldn't keep thinking like this. She chose Edward; he was where her future lied as fate had it. She was destined to become a vampire and never grow old. She loved Edward, she wouldn't deny that, and they promised each other forever. But even so, she felt like it wasn't enough. She didn't feel whole anymore when she was with Edward and his family. But she couldn't let them know that. They all were already expecting her to marry Edward and become a vampire, thus becoming a part of the family. Also, the Volturi demanded it and would have ambassadors at the wedding to make sure she went through with her marriage so she could be changed. Bella knew she had no choice anymore and was going to do what was best for everyone.

 _"_ _Why can't you just be honest with yourself just once in your life, Bells?"_ Jacob's voice sounded in her head. She shook her head and held it between her hands. But no matter how much she tried to block out his voice, she kept hearing it ringing in her head.

 _"_ _You can't make everyone happy or try to avoid hurting everyone."_

 _"_ _All you need to do is choose me."_

 _"_ _Being with me will be as easy as breathing."_

 _"_ _He can't give you the life you really want and deserve."_

 _"_ _Why does it always have to be him?"_

 _"_ _Tell me how you really feel, Bella."_

 _"_ _Love you, Bells."_

Tears fell down Bella's face as she silently cried. She missed Jacob so much and wasn't sure if she'd ever be okay knowing he was still missing. What really hurt her was knowing he had gone wolf because of her. Jacob was right, she couldn't avoid hurting everyone, but she wished she could avoid hurting him. Feeling emotionally exhausted, she drifted off into a restless sleep, Jacob's voice continuously ringing through her head.


	2. Chapter 2

Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 2

"Bella, you don't have to drive that thing if you don't want to," Charlie said as he saw his daughter walk out to the brand spanking new car that his (unfortunately) son-in-law-to-be had bought for her. The thing was absolutely gaudy and his excuse was that he wanted her to be safe since he didn't feel comfortable with her driving the pickup. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the truck, and if you asked Charlie, the new car was a hazard; it was too damn big!

The brunette girl sighed as she got into the car and closed the door. She had already had this conversation plenty of times with her dad. Even she herself didn't like driving it because it brought on more than enough unwanted attention. But if it made Edward happy, she'd do it. Buckling up Bella cranked the car and pulled out of the driveway. Driving away she saw Charlie shake his head and run a hand down the length of his face. She knew this was hard for Charlie because he didn't like Edward, especially since he left and sent her on an emotionless whirlwind, and then return and have her suddenly accept him back into her life without so much as an argument. And now he was stressed that she would be marrying him in another two weeks. That would probably be enough to stress any parent out.

Bella drove on away from her home and closer to the Reservation. She just had to go to the Black house and see if Jacob had returned. She was beginning to get desperate and she didn't want to continue to badger poor Seth Clearwater anymore about her best friend's whereabouts. Just as she was ten minutes away from the border of the Reservation her phone began to ring. Picking it up, she saw that the caller ID said it was Alice. She started not to answer because it was possibly Edward, but something told her to go ahead and answer. Giving in she pressed the answer button and held the device to her ear.

"Hi Alice," Bella said while concentrating on the road.

 _"_ _Bella! Thank goodness you answered. I was so worried!"_ Alice's voice rang through the earpiece. Bella frowned at what her other best friend said.

"What are you talking about, Alice? Why wouldn't I answer?

 _"_ _I was looking into your future and suddenly couldn't see you anymore. I didn't tell Edward and wanted to make sure I heard from you for myself before I told him."_

Hearing the pixie-like vampire say that made her think of the time when the last time she couldn't see her was after she jumped off the cliff. Alice had assumed she had been trying to kill herself and as a result, came back to Forks to see if she dead. And then she found out Edward had fled to Italy to die, thus causing her and Alice to fly there to save him. It was exactly this same scenario that caused all of her problems where Jacob was concerned. Just thinking of it made her sad and want to shed a few tears.

 _"_ _Bella? Are you there?"_ Alice asked? Apparently Bella hadn't heard anything she had said.

"I'm sorry Alice, did you say something?" Bella asked in return.

 _"_ _I said what are you doing right now? Because I can't see your future."_

"I'm headed to the Reservation right now. You probably can't anything because I'm going to be with Billy and another one of the Pack maybe there."

 _"_ _Again with the dog? Bella, why don't you just stop wasting your time? You wolf friend is gone and not coming back. He's just jealous because you chose Edward and love him more. Why don't you just give it a rest and focus on the wedding?"_

"How can you say that, Alice? Jake is my best friend and I'm worried about him. I need to know if Billy's alright and if the Pack has heard from him. My mind won't rest until I know he's alright. And I really don't care about the wedding right now."

 _"_ _Bella!"_

"Look, unless you can accept that Jake is an important person in my life, don't call me anymore."

 _"_ _But I can usually see your future after your visits. It disappears the day of the wedding!"_

"It's probably nothing, Alice. Look, I've got to go; I've reached the Res. Bye."

And with that, Bella hung up on the vampire. What did Alice mean when she said her future disappeared the day of the wedding? Deciding not to dwell on it she drove into the Reservation and on until she reached the little red house that was the Black residence. Parking and cutting off the car, she stepped out and walked toward the porch, stumbling along the way. When she reached the porch she climbed the two steps and knocked on the door. It took a while before the door opened and Billy appeared looking weary like he hadn't had any sleep. The man smiled and backed moved out of the way to allow the young girl to step inside.

Once the older man closed the door Bella asked if he had heard anything regarding his son. Billy shook his head, a grim look on his face. Bella felt her heart sink at his silent answer as she sunk onto the couch. Still no word from Jacob, none at all. She didn't want to think of any worse case scenarios that could have happened to the Shifter. Jacob was a survivor, that much was for certain. Even so, she couldn't help but worry about where he could be and if he was even alright. Billy wheeled himself over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder saying, "I'm just as worried as you are Bella, but I think it's time that you let go officially now."

Bella looked at the wise man astounded, not sure she understood what he was saying. Or rather, not wanting to understand what he was saying. Just as she opened her mouth to ask him what he meant, there was a knock at the door before it opened and Sam Uley and Paul Lahote stepped inside. Both of the Shifters froze at the sight of the pale faced girl sitting on their chief's couch. Sam recovered quicker and said, "Hello, Bella." Bella gave a weak smile and barely lifted her hand to wave. Sam took pity on the girl. He could see it in her eyes how much she cared for his lost brother, but couldn't even be honest with herself about just how much she did. If anyone understood what she was going through it was him, but he knew she needed to figure this out on her own. Paul on the other hand, was not having any of it and immediately attacked Bella verbally.

"What the hell are you doing here? Don't you know that your presence is not wanted here and never has been? Jake is gone because of you and you sticking around to drag him along while always running off to your bloodsucker when he returns is cruel. We've all stuck our necks out on the line for your dumb ass and Jake nearly got killed because of it! You selfish bitch! You just ruin people's lives and have been killing your supposed best friend from the inside out. I can't stand the fucking sight of you; leave here now. If I ever see you around here again and you're a vampire like you chose to be, I will personally kill you myself!" Paul said without pause.

Bella stared wide-eyed at the young man as he scowled harshly at her. His words cut deeper than anything she'd ever felt. She distinctly heard Sam scolding Paul for what he said and Billy trying to comfort her, but none of it registered. She felt absolutely lost and numb in that moment. Without realizing tears were streaming down her face, she stood up and rushed out of the red house and back to her car. Getting inside she cranked the ignition and drove away as she cried. She was full on sobbing when she returned back home and saw Charlie's cruiser gone. Parking the car she rushed inside and up the stairs to her bedroom where she closed and locked the door and flung herself on her bed, face buried in her pillow.

Paul was right; she was selfish and continuously ruined the lives of not only Jacob and the Pack, but the Cullens' as well. Bella knew she'd never be able to not hurt Jacob, no matter what she did. As long as she was with Edward, nothing would change. Sitting up she looked at the charm bracelet on her wrist and stared at the two completely diverse charms, each standing for something different, though both very important to her though they clashed. In frustration she yanked the bracelet off her wrist and threw it across her room as hard as she could. She watched it hit the wall, the diamond heart breaking off from the rest of the bracelet and off somewhere else before the bracelet hit the ground, wolf charm still intact.

Wiping her tears from her face, Bella took a deep breath and looked at the engagement ring on her finger. It was still a heavy weight on her but this was her choice. This was what she wanted and it was the right choice. An eternity of love with Edward never growing old was what she wanted. At least, that was what she was trying to convince herself of, anyway. She had to forget the Reservation and Jacob for the next two weeks. She was getting married and couldn't move forward with it if she still hung on to Jacob. Billy was right; she needed to let Jacob go. But she knew even if she invested herself into this wedding finally, nothing would completely distract her from her worry over her best friend.


	3. Chapter 3

Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 3

Bella awoke that morning to the slight shaking of her shoulder. Moaning softly, she rolled over and opened her eyes to see the amber eyes of Alice Cullen peering down at her. The pixie like vampire had a huge smile on her face as she seemed to bounce on her heels a little.

"Morning, Bella. Time to get up and get ready to leave," she said.

Bella sat up and stretched a bit before rubbing the heel of her hand over her eye. She had had a rough night and had gotten almost no sleep. Nightmares about Jacob had kept her awake before she was finally able to sleep and stay asleep. Letting her friend's words sink in, she asked, "Get ready for what?"

Alice giggled and answered, "For your wedding, silly. Today's the big day! Now get dressed, I'll meet you downstairs." Alice flashed her another smile before slipping out of the window of her bedroom. Bella sighed before getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom, where she heard the front door being knocked on as she went. Bella brushed her teeth and used the toilet before jumping in the shower. As the water cascaded down her body and over her head, she thought about what the day would bring.

Today, she would be going to the Cullen mansion to marry Edward, the love of her life. She would become Mrs. Edward Cullen, and then they would go on their honeymoon. And upon returning, she would be made a vampire, just like she wanted.

 _"_ _This is not at all what you really want,"_ a voice rang in the back of her head. Bella shook her head to rid herself of the voice of doubt as she washed herself, but it wouldn't go away. As she finished washing her hair, she heard the voice say, _"You're making a mistake and you know it."_

Bella beat her forehead with the heel of her hand before shutting off the shower and stepping out, wrapping a towel around her and heading back to her room. She put on a flannel shirt and her jeans, and then put on her socks and tennis shoes before towel drying her hair. Once that was done, she grabbed her phone and wallet before heading downstairs where she found Charlie and Alice sitting at the kitchen table talking. Charlie looked up at his daughter and gave her a small smile, but Bella could tell that it was strained. He had been dreading this day and now it was here, and the man was not happy.

Alice looked at her and smiled, saying, "Well, we've got to get going, Charlie. Bella's got to go get ready for her big day. Edward is very excited to see her as well." Charlie made a bit of an annoyed noise before nodding and looking down into his coffee mug. Bella wanted to say something to her dad, but was pulled out of the house by Alice. They climbed into the vampire's yellow Porsche and were soon headed toward the Cullen house.

Bella listened to Alice talk about the wedding preparations and how everything turned out perfect. She also mentioned the dress she saw her in and that it had arrived yesterday, and it was apparently beautiful. Whatever it looked like, Bella knew it wouldn't look like anything she would have chosen. This was also why she left everything to Alice; whatever she would have chosen, Alice would have immediately refused and picked something else.

 _"_ _They control you and have been since you got involved with them,"_ the voice said. Bella willed away the voice and continued to look out the window, watching the small town move on by. Minutes later, the Cullen mansion came into view and Alice parked in the garage. They both got out and headed inside where they were greeted by Esme. The motherly vampire rushed to hug Bella with a huge smile on her face.

"So happy to see you, Bella. You must be excited for today," she said happily. Bella nodded and gave a small 'yeah' in response before being ushered up the stairs by Alice. Esme was already dressed and was making sure everything was perfect, from the catering to the decorations to where the wedding would be held. Alice dragged Bella behind her up the stairs all the way into her and Jasper's bedroom. Bella noticed that the heels she was supposed to stumble around in were sitting on the floor next to the bed and the wedding dress lying on it.

The dress was, in lack of a better word, exquisite. It was something that should be seen on a model or in a magazine and not on her. Alice immediately set to working on Bella, starting with blow drying the remaining dampness in her hair. Once that was done, she ushered her to the adjoining bathroom that Rosalie had been hiding out in so they could start on her hair. With the two of them at work, it didn't take long for her hair to be braided, curled, and pinned up in a very uncomfortable way so the veil would sit perfectly in it. Alice left Rosalie to help Bella finish getting ready, as she quickly put on her maid of honor dress and left to go help her mother figure greet the guests that were starting to arrive. Rosalie had already begun on Bella's makeup, but as soon as her sister was out of vampire earshot, she said, "You know you don't have to go through with this."

Bella was surprised that Rosalie decided to speak to her willingly once again. But what she had said threw her off a little. Rosalie noticed her confused look and said, "This whole wedding business is nothing but a debacle and it's obvious you are more than less enthusiastic about it."

"Edward says he won't change me unless we're married," Bella said as her future sister-in-law started working on her eye shadow. She heard the blonde scoff before saying, "Who cares what Fuckward wants? The golden boy is oh so perfect in everyone's eyes and he can't possibly do any wrong. He's pressured you into this wedding, just like he knew that getting involved with you would only lead this family to disaster. And low and behold, you being involved and knowing about our kind has gotten us into more trouble with the Volturi than necessary. The only reason any of us are still alive now is because Aro holds a lot of respect for Carlisle and has a soft spot for Edward and Alice. He could give a shit about the rest of us, and that includes you. But because you're my brother's precious pet, he's also let you live and has given you the ultimatum of being changed or dead."

Bella opened her eyes and watched Rosalie start harshly slamming her makeup products around, trying to find the right one she needed. She couldn't believe all of what Rosalie had said. It all couldn't possibly be true. Edward loved her and has protected her. But she couldn't help but think that Rosalie was right in a way. If she hadn't been so persistent in figuring out Edward's true nature, the snowball effect that happened afterwards wouldn't have happened. But what was done was done, and there was no turning back.

Shaking her head, Bella said, "I can't just back out of this wedding. Edward and a whole bunch of people are waiting for me to marry him. And you all spent a bunch of money for this wedding, I can't just bail."

"Actually, only Alice spent money on this wedding. She saw everything a certain way and paid for it all to be that way," Rosalie responded as she set to putting a MAC lipstick on her lips in the shade of Hue and working on her blush. When she was done, the beauty queen like vampire stepped back and admired her work. Giving a curt nod she said, "You're done, now let's get you in your wedding dress."

They left the bathroom and walked back into the bedroom, where the wedding dress was still waiting. Bella undressed from her flannel shirt and jeans, then put on the torsolette before Rosalie helped her into her magnificent bridal gown. She put on her white high heels as Rosalie pinned the veil in her hair before she walked to the full length mirror to look at herself. Bella gazed at herself, not completely sure she was seeing what she was seeing. She didn't look like herself, but she guessed that was the point of weddings. She wasn't sure if she liked it, but she knew she wouldn't have to do this ever again.

Rosalie looked at Bella's reflection as well, a sad smile on her face. Bella wondered why she was sad and asked her about it. She was surprised that Rosalie told her she was sad for her because she was going to lose one of the best things about her. When asked what that was, Rosalie said, "Being human."

As she turned to leave, Rosalie looked back at Bella and said, "You make a beautiful bride. Just remember that the choice is still there to bail, and there is no shame in it. I know Volturi ambassadors are here to oversee this, but if you decide to quit before it really is too late, just give me a look and I'll help you. Just know that you'll never truly be happy until you follow your heart." And with that, Rosalie left Bella to ponder her words.

Bella swallowed as she let the words sink in. She wanted to believe she was happy, but it was hard to when doubts were being thrown at her by not only her least favorite of the Cullen family, but by her own mind. She heard the voice once again speak, this time saying, _"She's right, you know. You will be giving up so much the day you become a vampire. Think about Charlie, Renee, Phil, Jacob…"_

Shutting her eyes tightly, she tried to ward off the voice and thoughts of her still missing best friend, but they wouldn't go away. Jacob was already gone because of what was about to happen today. If he saw her as his mortal enemy, he'd probably die. He had once said he would love her even if she did become a vampire, but she knew that there was only so much his already fragile heart could take when it came to her.

 _"_ _Why can't you just be honest with yourself just once in your life, Bells?"_ she heard Jacob's voice once again say in her head. She felt tears well up in her eyes but quickly batted them away as to not ruin her makeup. There was a knock on the door, and she turned to see Alice peering in with a wide grin on her porcelain face.

"It's time, Bella!" she said excitedly. Bella took a deep breath and nodded following her friend out of the room and downstairs carefully. When she reached the bottom, she saw Charlie tugging nervously on his tuxedo collar and shuffling his feet. He turned to look at her when he heard her and his eyes widened at the sight of her. His daughter looked beautiful, he had to admit, but the thought that he was about to give away his only child to a boy he had absolutely no respect for made him want to cry.

"Hi dad," Bella said softly as she stepped up to him. She watched his eyes, the exact match to her own, rove over her before looking her in the eye. The man gave her a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. Seeing this made her chest clench painfully. While this was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, this was Charlie's worst. He swallowed loudly before saying, "You look beautiful."

Bella smiled at his words, knowing that he was being honest despite his mood. Alice told them that they were on in five minutes before handing Bella her bouquet, and then walking outside and down the aisle to stand in place. As soon as she was gone Rosalie walked around a corner and over to them. She smiled and said, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but someone is here to see you, Bella, and I think you're going to like it."

Just before she could ask what the blonde meant, Bella's breath left her. Her eyes bugged out as she heard Charlie inhale sharply before giving a joyous laugh. Walking over to them in jeans, a white t-shirt, and black combat boots, was Jacob Black.


	4. Chapter 4

Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 4

"Jake! You're back!" Charlie exclaimed as he rushed to hug the boy that was like a son to him. Jacob gave a smile as he hugged his second father, happy to see that he wasn't upset with him for running away. But knowing Charlie, he'd rip into him about it later. As happy as he was to see Charlie, his eyes were riveted on the object of his affections that was standing stock still, staring at him with a look of astonishment on her face.

"Bella," Jacob said as he let go of Charlie. Bella couldn't stop the tears that spilled over onto her cheeks at hearing her best friend's voice after so long. Lifting her dress she rushed to him as fast as her legs could carry her, surprised she didn't fall flat on her face from the wretched heels she was wearing. Throwing herself on him, she wrapped her arms around Jacob's neck and held him close to her, relief flooding her body, mind, and heart at having him in her arms again. Jacob was feeling the exact same thing at the moment and held his love close while soothing her quiet sobs.

Charlie watched on with a pleased expression on his face. He was delighted to see his daughter finally express the most emotions he's ever seen her express since Jacob's disappearance. He fully believed that Bella loved Jacob, and if this display before him didn't convince him otherwise, he'd chop his own hand off. Charlie knew Bella didn't love Edward the way she claimed to, it was obvious to everyone around them that weren't involved with the wedding or Cullen family. In fact, the only member of the family who looked just as reluctant to participate was the blonde one; Rosalie, if he remembered correctly. He silently hoped that Jacob's return would convince Bella to throw the wedding, but she was just as stubborn as he was and knew it was just wishful thinking. Deciding to leave them alone to talk, he went to stand next to Rosalie who was watching the exchange intently. She knew Charlie wouldn't be able to hear their conversation from where they were standing, but she could. She hadn't told Bella this, but her future still disappeared today.

Alice was afraid to say so and had kept it a secret from everyone so the wedding could go off without a hitch, but Rosalie had the ace up her sleeve that was Jacob Black. She had seen him in town earlier when she was getting last minutes supplies for Esme when she had seen him. She convinced him to come to the mansion to see and talk to Bella in the hopes that he could change her mind. He had told her that the girl wouldn't, but Rosalie knew that just seeing and hearing him out would be enough for Bella to come to her own conclusion about the decision she was making to marry her brother.

Bella sniffed and composed herself before pulling away from Jacob, wiping her eyes. Luckily Rosalie had the thought to put waterproof makeup on her, or she'd have to spend another ten minutes getting it fixed.

"Oh, Jake," Bella breathed as she looked at him. He looked worn out and his hair had grown and was a little shaggy, but to Bella he looked perfect. She gave him another hug saying, "I'm so happy you're back and alright. I've been so worried."

"I'm sorry, Bells. But I'm back and here to stay now," Jacob said pulling away and looking her up and down. She didn't look anything like his Bella; this was the leech's Bella. Even so, he had to admit she looked beautiful and told her so. Bella blushed and felt her heart flutter before telling him 'thanks'.

Jacob's face suddenly turned serious, alarming Bella instantly. Before she could ask him what was wrong, the Shifter said, "Bella, don't do this. Don't get married to him."

Bella was taken aback by this, but also felt she should have known he would say something like this. After all of this time, he was still fighting, even on her wedding day. She sighed before saying, "Jake, we've been through this. I love Edward and I want to marry him."

"No you don't. You don't want to get married, at least not to him. You're only doing it so you can be one of them. This whole thing is nothing but a circus show and you're willingly being a part of it. He's making you do this," Jacob countered.

"You're wrong, I love Edward. And I'm marrying him out of the love I have for him. Yes it seems like I will be getting something out of it, but I really just love him."

"So you say, but have you even thought about how this will affect everyone else around you? Charlie? Your mom? Me? Don't we matter to you? Or is all you care about is that leech waiting out there? You are making a mistake and the day you realize that it will be too late."

Bella was at a loss for words. Jacob knew she hated confrontation and he was slamming a lot of it in her face, just moments before she got married. She didn't need this doubt, not today, not right now. But she couldn't help but think that her best friend was right. And just thinking that scared her. She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to make his words go away. Jacob could see the inner turmoil she was having and gently grasped her face in his hands.

"Bella, please stop this. Just think about yourself and what you really want for once and not what others expect of you. Be honest with yourself! We can leave; you can call it quits and we can leave here together! You love me, I know you do! All you have to do is choose me!" he said desperately, feeling her pulling away from him more than she had before.

The brunette finally opened her eyes and her heart broke at the look of desperation and fleeting hope in his brown eyes. She hated hurting him more than anything, but she knew she had no choice. Taking a deep breath, she whispered, "I'm sorry Jake, but I can't."

Jacob's eyes hardened and his jaw clenched. Letting her go he stepped back and looked at her with complete disgust. Giving a humorless smile, he said, "So that's how it is, huh? Fine. Do what you want. But I'll ask you one more time: is this what you really want?"

Bella had to swallow the lump in her throat as she gave him a nod. She watched him give a defeated sigh before saying goodbye to Charlie, then he turned and left the house. Bella didn't like this at all. The last time she had seen him, she had walked away from him. And now the same thing was happening, only this time she was in his position. The damage was done, there was no fixing it.

She felt a hand on her shoulder causing her to look at her dad. He gave her a sad smile before saying, "It's time, kiddo." Bella hesitated before nodding, and they both turned to the doors that would lead them to the wedding venue. Just before the doors opened to let them exit, Rosalie whispered to her that she would be waiting. She appreciated Rosalie's offer, but she wouldn't take it. At least that was what she thought as the doors opened and the music began.

As she and her father walked down the aisle, she looked at the crowd and saw all of the familiar and unfamiliar faces looking her way. Her mom and Phil were looking too. Renee looked so proud and happy and Phil, he looked absolutely uncomfortable in the suit he was wearing. She also saw Billy and Sue Clearwater in the crowd, both of them giving her sad smiles. The small smile Bella had on her face immediately fell as she looked at Billy. Did he even know his son was back, let alone had been here? It hurt her to even think about it. Finally her eyes settled on her fiancé.

There he was, standing there so pristine and poised. Edward looked so beautiful, as did the rest of his family. They were all looking so excited and proud of their son and brother. They were all so flawless and she would one day be too.

 _"_ _Why does it always have to be him?"_

 _"_ _He can't give you the life you really want and deserve."_

 _"_ _Why can't you just be honest with yourself just once in your life, Bells?"_

 _"_ _Is this what you really want?"_

Jacob's words kept reverberating inside her head as she walked, but she didn't notice that as she met the halfway point, her steps had slowed. Charlie noticed and was wondering was she suddenly getting cold feet; he really hoped so.

Bella couldn't stop Jacob's words as more and more of them entered her mind. Along with the words came all the memories she had shared with her best friend. Seeing him so happy and carefree, his eyes shining, his smile wide and bright on his face. He was so beautiful.

 _"_ _Just know you'll never truly be happy until you follow your heart,"_ Rosalie's words rang through her mind.

Bella stopped in her tracks just mere feet from the alter. She looked down at the ground before closing her eyes. Charlie, Edward, and everyone else started getting worried. Was the bride about to jilt the groom? Bella couldn't stop her trembling as all of the doubts she had tried so hard to rid away returned with a vengeance. The flood of emotions she was feeling caused her to start crying and she dropped her bouquet so she could cover her face while her other hand held tightly to her father's arm.

Jacob was right; she didn't want this. She didn't want to marry Edward, and she didn't want to become a vampire. A lifetime of youth was definitely appealing, but seeing all her loved ones wither away as she remained eighteen forever was too much for her to handle. And the feather that broke the camel's back for her was that she finally had to admit to herself that she loved Jacob. No, not just love him; she was _in love_ with him. She had thought her love for Edward outweighed her love for Jacob, but really it was the other way around. She couldn't live without that boy in her life.

"Bella, what's wrong?" she heard Charlie ask her. Looking up at him, she saw his concern. Giving him a genuine smile, she answered, "I finally realized what I've been denying for so long. And I'm about to make you extremely happy."

With that she turned to see Rosalie waiting for her at the end of the aisle with a duffle bag in her hand. The blonde vampire smiled and winked, telling her it was time to bail. Kicking her high heels off, Bella picked up her dress and ran towards Rosalie, ignoring the alarmed murmuring of the crowd and her mother's shout for her to go back. She followed Rosalie through the house to the garage and they both got into the vampire's drop top red convertible. Once they were both in and buckled up, Rosalie gave her the duffle bag and cranked the car. Bella was happy to see her regular clothes inside the bag as she opened it. Just as Rosalie backed out of the garage, Edward appeared with Alice and Renee to try and stop them. Bella knew they wouldn't be able to as long as her mother was present and for that, she was grateful.

Rosalie turned the car around and sped off down the driveway and to the main road. Bella took the veil out of her hair and let it go in the wind before taking the pins out of her hair. She had finally got all of the pins and braids out when they reached the town. Bella soon noticed that her getaway partner was heading towards the Reservation.

"Rosalie, are you taking me to the Res?" Bella asked hopeful. Rosalie gave her an honest grin and nodded, saying, "You have a lot of making up to do with Jacob. No better way to start than to go to him immediately. Now try to get dressed as best you can before we get there, I'll help with anything else when we get to the border."

Bella grinned and leaned over to give the blonde a quick hug before taking her jeans out of the duffle bag. She was on her way to see Jacob, and she would tell him that she finally decided to follow her heart. And her heart was wherever he was.


	5. Chapter 5

Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 5

Jacob sighed as he lay on his stomach on his bed. He had tried, even at the last minute he had tried. But Bella was stubborn and refused to give up the leech and a life of immortality. It was just like she had said, he wasn't enough for her and nothing he could possibly give her or do for her would ever be enough. She was probably already saying her vows and 'I do's' by now. He hadn't been too late, but if he had wanted to try one more time, he would have been. However, Jacob didn't have the motivation to try ever again now. He had given up, it was all over.

A knock on the door caught his attention. Jacob did not want to answer it, so instead chose to ignore it. The knocking person however, not only kept knocking, but knocked louder and harder. Giving a frustrated sigh, Jacob got up off of his small bed and stalked down the hallway to the front door. Grabbing the knob, he twisted it and yanked the door open revealing Leah Clearwater.

"What the hell do you want, Leah?" Jacob asked, irritated that the she-wolf was bothering him instead of leaving him alone. She, like the rest of the Pack, knew that today was his worst day ever. The love of his life was getting married and was possibly already married, and all of their hard work to keep her alive was all for naught.

Leah frowned and answered, "I just came to make sure you were okay. You don't have to get your thong up in a bunch."

Jacob sighed and turned around to sit on the old couch in his living room, silently allowing Leah entrance to his home. The female stepped inside wearing a pair of jeans, black knee high boots, and a grey halter top, and closed the door behind her before sitting down next to her Pack mate. She watched Jacob rub his hands over his face before the hands reached his hair and gripped it tightly. He was taking this really hard and Leah felt she knew what he was going through. It was hard losing the one person you love the most to someone else. She wouldn't be able to understand the 'losing my love to my mortal enemy' part, but she knew heartbreak. When Sam Imprinted on her cousin Emily, and then left her for his newfound Imprint, Leah's heart had shattered in her chest. She cried more times than not during and after that time, and when she finally pulled herself together, she became bitter. And seeing Jacob give his all for someone who would never choose him made Leah's cold heart feel for him. She wanted to be there for him, especially now that he finally accepted that he had lost to the leech.

Reaching a hand out, Leah gently placed it on his back and rubbed circles on his back in a soothing manner. Softly she said, "Listen Jake, you're hurting right now; I get it, okay? Do you think it was easy for me to let Sam go when he Imprinted and chose Emily over me? And do you think it isn't hard for me to have to endure his thoughts about her and their happy life everyday whenever we're patrolling together? It hurt then and it sometimes hurts now, but I've realized that I'm stronger than that. You will get over this, or not, but it will pass and you will move on."

"Then why haven't you?" Jacob asked looking her in the eye. He saw Leah's eye twitch a bit before settling. He apologized to her as he knew she was just trying to make him feel better before laying his head on the older girl's shoulder. Jacob seemed to relax as Leah's hand moved up to his hair and her fingers stroked it and massaged his scalp. He chuckled when his Pack mate told him he needed a haircut.

"Hold tight, let me go find a pair of scissors," Leah said as she stood up and walked to the bathroom. She returned two minutes later with a pair of scissors in her hand before telling him to not move. Jacob did as she said as she began to cut his shaggy hair. Fifteen minutes later, Leah had Jacob's hair looking presentable and somewhat like the way it looked when he had first ran away. Giving a nod of approval, Leah said, "Okay, you are set. Now go change your clothes."

Jacob looked confused and asked, "Why?"

"Because me and you are going out and have some fun. Now go get changed!" Leah said pointing down the hall. Jacob laughed before refusing, saying his clothes were just fine. Leah huffed before telling him to at least get rid of the pieces of hair on his t-shirt. Once the hair pieces were gone, Jacob grabbed the keys to his Rabbit and he and Leah left the little red house, got into his car, and drove away from the Reservation to Port Angeles. However, as they drove away, they both failed to notice the little red convertible in the distance making its way toward the Reservation. And the two people in said convertible also missed the Rabbit as it drove away from their destination.

Minutes later, Rosalie stopped the car and got out before rushing to the other side and opened the door. Helping Bella stand, she turned her around so she could undo the glorious bridal gown, then dropped it to the ground leaving Bella with her jeans just below her buttocks and her torsolette. Bella pulled her regular bra out of the duffle back and put it on just as Rosalie ripped the torsolette from her body. She then put on her flannel shirt, then her socks and tennis shoes before turning to the vampire who was throwing the wedding dress in the back seat of her car.

"Thank you so much for this, Rosalie. I don't know how I could ever repay you," Bella said giving the blonde a hug. Cold arms wrapped around her in a hug before they both let go. Shaking her head, Rosalie said, "Don't worry about it, just go and get your man. Trust me that will be enough for paying me back. Now go!"

Bella nodded before taking off and running over the border onto Quileute land. She never stopped running until she finally saw the Black home in sight. Slowing a little to catch her breath, Bella quickly walked to the porch, stumbling up the stairs, and pounded on the door. She waited a minute before pounded on the door again.

"Jake! Jake are you there? Please answer the door!" Bella called desperately, hoping her best friend wouldn't ignore her and would listen to what she had to say. She needed to tell him she loved him, that he was enough and that she had been wrong. She kept her insistent knocking and calling until her pale hand had turned red and her throat hurt. Sinking down to sit on the porch, Bella leant her head against the door, taking deep breaths.

"Bella?" a voice called out to her. Turning she saw Seth standing near the edge of the woods near Jacob's home. Standing up quickly, Bella rushed down the stairs of the porch and hurried over to Seth, slipping as she reached him. She almost fell, but Seth's quick reflexes allowed him to catch her and stand her back up straight.

"Seth, have you seen Jake? I need to talk to him right now," Bella said breathlessly. Seth wondered what Bella was doing here instead of at her wedding, but then he smiled when he realized that she was here looking for his best friend. Hugging her tightly, he exclaimed, "You chose Jake! Yay, Bella!"

Bella patted his back before saying, "Yes, I did, but you're squishing me, Seth." Once the young Shifter let go and she got her breath again, she asked him if he had seen Jacob or knew where he was. Her heart started beating anxiously when she saw Seth's smile falter a bit. Feeling anxious now, Bella asked, "Seth, where is he?"

Seth looked to the side nervously before answering, "He's hanging out with my sister. She said that since you, quote, 'decided to still continue to be a leech lover, she would take it upon herself to make sure Jake was happy and to forget you' unquote. All her words, not mine. It almost sounded like she was hoping for a possible romance with him in the future, since he seems to have a thing for older girls or something like that."

Bella's heart dropped into her stomach at hearing his words. Jacob was out with Leah? And Leah wanted to be with Jacob? She couldn't believe her ears. She wouldn't blame Seth, his innocent nature made him tell the truth all of the time, but she couldn't believe Jacob would move on with the she-wolf. She needed to find him and tell him what she felt and how she changed her mind before he changed his about how he felt about her. Determined she asked Seth did he know where they may have gone. Seth nodded and said, "Port Angeles. Come on, let's borrow one of Jake's motorcycles. We can probably catch them in time."

The two of them hurried into Jacob's garage and hopped on one of his motorcycles, happy to see it already had its key in the ignition. Bella held onto Seth as he started the bike and revved up before riding out of the garage.

 **Author's Note: I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! And I hope that you liked this chapter and will continue to stay tuned for more to come.**


	6. Chapter 6

Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 6

Bella held onto Seth tightly as he swerved in between the cars and lanes on Jacob's motorcycle. She hoped Seth could get them to Port Angeles in time to find Jacob so she could tell him that she chose him instead of Edward.

"Faster Seth, faster!" Bella called over the wind in her ears and the engine of the motorcycle.

"I'm going as fast as I can on this thing, Bella! But I also don't want to wreck and hurt us both! We're not wearing helmets, remember?!" Seth called back. Bella then remembered that they indeed were not wearing helmets. Her only protection was Seth if anything happened. Therefore she held onto him tighter and watched the signs on the highway go by. She was happy when the first sign with the words 'Port Angeles' came into view. It wasn't long before Seth veered off the highway and onto the road that led them to the city of Port Angeles.

Coming upon a red stoplight, Seth asked, "Where do you think that they may have gone?"

Bella thought for a minute before answering, "The movie theater. Do you know where that is?"

"Yeah, I do. Don't worry, I'll get us there on time and you can confess your love for Jake," he answered a cheeky grin on his face as he looked back at her. The brunette smiled back and loosened her grip on the young Clearwater a bit as he revved the motorcycle and drove onward once the light turned green. Five minutes later they arrived at the movie theater. Seth pulled off to the curb and allowed Bella to hop off the bike and rush inside the theater. Bella didn't have to worry about being stopped, as many people walked in with pre-printed tickets or to use the bathroom; so as far as the employees knew, she had to pee really badly. Then again, they probably didn't care one way or another that she didn't have a ticket. It was then that Bella realized that she didn't even know what movie theater that Jacob and Leah might be in. Now that she thought about it, the two Pack mates might not even be here.

A hand landed on her shoulder and she turned to see Seth standing behind her. Looking around he said, "I saw Jake's Rabbit, so they're definitely here."

"Great, but what movie could they possibly be seeing right now?" Bella asked anxiously. She was in a hurry to find her best friend and not knowing what showing room he was in couldn't delay her in her confession.

The young Shifter shrugged before answering, "I don't know. They both like action movies and they're playing at least six of them right now."

Bella gave out a frustrated cry as she griped her hair. They were on a wild goose chase. How hard was it to possibly find two overly tall Quileute people? Deciding to just start searching, Bella grabbed Seth's wrist and pulled him into the first showing room that she saw was playing an action movie.

As soon as they walked inside that room, Jacob and Leah walked out of the one across from it, laughing at how disappointing the movie they had been watching was. The movie wasn't over; it was just so bad that they walked out. Leaving the theater, Leah said, "Well, other than watching a sad movie, there are other things to do around here."

Jacob smiled and said, "Yeah, there are. Hey, I saw a mini golf course on our way here. Do you want to go?"

"Sure thing. Besides, I'd love to kick your butt at mini golf any day," Leah said, a playful smirk on her face. Jacob laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, guiding her back to his precious car. He couldn't help but notice the looks that they were getting. Then again, they did tower over regular people by at least four inches or more. But some of the looks they received were envious and lustful. Reaching his car, he opened up the passenger door and held it open for Leah to get inside.

"M'lady," the young Black said in a British accent, giving a deep bow. Leah rolled her eyes before replying in the same accent, "Why, thank you, good sir. Such gentlemanly behavior."

"Thank you," Jacob said before they both busted into laughter. Leah got inside and allowed Jacob to close the door before he ran around to the driver's side, getting inside, cranking the car, and pulling out of the parking lot. They drove on about ten minutes talking about different things, purposely avoiding the topic of Bella and the wedding. Leah noticed that Jacob seemed to almost be like his old self again. All she had to do was keep him occupied and make sure he didn't drift off into a depression over losing the leech lover. And as time went on maybe, just maybe he would fall for her and they could try to make a relationship work.

Did she have a crush on the intended Alpha? Yes, she would admit that she did. And she found him much more interesting than Sam had ever been to her. Besides, they could help to heal each other after losing the ones that they had hoped to be with forever. Jacob was a good friend, but she knew he didn't like her that way, as he was still raw over Bella. She would just have to wait until he got over her, and hopefully then he would want to give them a chance.

Jacob pulled into the parking lot of the mini golf course and the two of them got out of the car, allowing the young man to lock it before they headed over to the golf club booth. They both signed their names and paid to have a club and ball for a game, though Jacob paid for Leah even when she told him not to. Pretty soon they were playing a rather competitive game of mini golf. At one point, Jacob had knocked his ball into Leah's, causing it to go off of the course and fall into the water below. The look on her face was priceless, causing Jacob to start laughing.

"Jake, really?! Now I have to go get another ball! You know a ball is two dollars each!" Leah said with exasperation. Jacob told Leah to hold on before he took his wallet out of his pocket and handed it to her. He had forgotten his phone at home, so he didn't have to worry about getting it wet. Dropping his gold club, Jacob dropped down into the water and started searching for her red ball. The water was murky so it was hard to see from the surface. Holding his breath, he dove down under and didn't resurface until he had found a red ball, not necessarily Leah's, but it would do. Climbing back onto the course, he held it up in her face with a satisfied grin on his face, clothes clinging to his body. Leah looked at Jacob's wet torso, the drenched white t-shirt sticking to him and defining every ab and muscle he had. Oh yeah, he was hot and even she could appreciate it. How Bella couldn't, she would never know. But Leah didn't just like Jacob because of his hotness (even though it was a factor), but because of his caring and determined nature.

Taking the ball back, the she-wolf said, "Thanks. Now let's finish this game. I believe I was three strokes ahead of you." Jacob chuckled before telling her to bring it on, and they continued on until the course was over. As she had said, Leah had won and the two of them decided to head back to the Reservation, but not before stopping to get something to eat. They were both walking back to the Rabbit when they were stopped by an elderly woman with her young granddaughter.

"Excuse me," the woman's gentle yet strong voice said. Jacob turned towards her and said, "Yes, ma'am?"

The old woman smiled and said, "I just wanted to say that you both make a beautiful couple."

Leah and Jacob both blushed a bright crimson through their tanned skin, embarrassed at such a compliment, though it wasn't true. They thanked her before getting into the car. They sat there for a while in silence before Jacob broke it with an awkward laugh. Leah joined in with her Pack mate's laughter as he cranked the car and pulled away from the mini golf courses and to the nearest restaurant.

Meanwhile Seth and Bella had searched every show room that was showing an action movie, not finding Jacob and Leah in any of them. Bella was saddened that they hadn't found them. She was running around looking for Jacob, and he was off running around with Seth's sister. Sighing in sadness, she sat down on a cushioned bench in the lobby of the movie theater, placing her face in her hands. Her eye started to burn and that was when she remembered she was wearing makeup. She needed to get the makeup off of her face so she didn't look like a made up doll anymore. Looking up at her companion, she met his concerned gaze.

"Do you want to keep looking?" he asked. He knew the girl was frustrated. She had jilted her fiancé and ran off looking for his enemy to be with him instead. And now she couldn't even find him.

Bella shook her head and said, "No, not right now. I think I want to head home and get this makeup off. I'll go back to Jake's house later, and hopefully he will be there and will hear me out. It'll be a miracle if he does after I turned him away to get married."

"Well that, and if he does with you still wearing that gaudy ring," Seth said. Bella remembered then that she was still wearing the engagement ring Edward gave her when he proposed. She needed to give it back to him, as it was his mother's when he was still human. Standing up, she asked Seth to take her back to her dad's house. The young boy nodded and the two of them walked over to where Seth had parked Jacob's motorcycle, climbed on, and drove away back to the highway to head back to Forks.

Some time later, they had reached Forks and Seth drove Bella home. He slowed the bike down and turned into her home's driveway, stopping the motorcycle so Bella could climb off. She thanked him and watched him drive away before heading inside. She had been glad when she saw her father's police cruiser when they had pulled up, so when she walked in, she walked straight to the living room where Charlie was sitting on the couch watching a Mariners game.

Charlie looked up when he noticed his daughter enter the living room. He gave her a smile and patted the space next to him, silently asking her to sit. Bella did so and laid her head over on Charlie's shoulder, letting him hug her to give her some comfort.

"Rosalie told me you left to go and talk to Jacob. Did you finally choose him?" Charlie said. Even though he knew the answer, he wanted to hear it from his own daughter's mouth. Bella nodded and said, "Yeah, I did. I wanted to tell him that I made a mistake and wanted to give us a chance, but he wasn't home. Seth took me to Port Angeles to try and find him, but we couldn't."

The police chief didn't like how dejected the girl sounded. He hugged her tighter before saying, "Don't worry, he'll return soon. He promised not to run again, remember?"

Bella nodded and said, "I know, dad. He hasn't run away, he's just avoiding me. After all, he thinks that I'm married by now. I need to give Edward his ring back and apologize to the rest of the Cullens."

"Speaking of which, that boy stopped by looking for you, but I sent him away telling him you were with Jake. He didn't look to happy, but I was enjoying it," Charlie said, sounding satisfied with himself.

"Thanks, dad. Well, I'm going to go get this crap off of my face, then go back to the Res to see if Jacob has returned home yet."

"That's fine. By the way, your mother is coming over tomorrow to talk to you. She said something about needing to talk some since into you about leaving a man at the alter or whatever. I didn't really care."

Bella nodded before standing up and heading up the stairs. She detoured into the bathroom to wash her face, scrubbing the dried make up off until it was all gone. After drying her face with a face towel, she left the bathroom to go into her own room only to stop in her tracks. There sitting on her bed with relieved yet irate look on his face was her ex-fiance, Edward Cullen.


	7. Chapter 7

Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 7

Bella stood stock still for a few seconds before closing her bedroom door behind her so her father wouldn't hear her talking. Crossing her arms over her chest, she asked, "What are you doing here, Edward?"

"You know why I'm here, Bella," Edward said. His golden eyes roamed over her face, trying to decipher her expressions. However the only one he could get was irritation. Bella has never been irritated to see him before, so this was a bit disconcerting.

The brunette sighed and said, "Yeah, I do. And honestly Edward, it's best that you leave and never come back."

Edward's face took on an expression of hurt, causing Bella to look away from him. She didn't want to hurt him, but she needed him to understand that she finally made a choice that was best for her, a choice that she really wanted without his influence. However, she had a feeling that this would be harder for the vampire to understand. In the past and as of late the past few weeks, she had always put him first. But not anymore. She was putting her foot down when it came to Edward Cullen. He was not going to be her main concern anymore. Jacob was her concern now as far as love went, and the vampire would just have to accept that.

"Look Edward, I left you at the altar today and ran away. Actually I never made it to the altar, but the point is I ran. I ran because I knew I was making a mistake. I would have made a mistake marrying you and giving in to a life of endless youth just because I'm scared of growing old and dying. Having to watch my family and friends grow old, wither and die away without me would be too much for me to handle," Bella told him honestly as she went and sat in her rocking chair. She didn't want to sit on her bed next to Edward in the event that he dazzles her. Yes, she knew about his dazzling, but she thought that since she was in love with him, she didn't mind. But Jacob's absence had allowed her to think and she realized that with banning Edward away as well, she came to realize that Edward and the Cullen's influence on her was beyond unhealthy.

Edward scoffed at her statement and said, "You weren't so worried about that all those weeks ago when you still agreed to marry me. You said forever, Bella. Does that mean nothing to you now? You love me just like I love you. We are meant to be together and we will be together. You're just overwhelmed at the moment, but once you get over your anxiety the wedding will be back on."

Bella looked at Edward incredulously. Did he really believe that it was just her nerves that made her abandon their wedding? Glaring at him she said, "My nerves had nothing to do with it. I left the wedding because I wanted to. Because I didn't and still don't want to be married to you. Edward, I'm going to be the bluntest I have ever been with you right now, so listen closely. I do _not_ want to be with you anymore. I want to be with Jacob. I have chosen _Jacob._ And nothing you can do will make me change my mind."

Edward's face suddenly turned cold before taking on a murderous look. The vampire stood and stalked over to her before leaning down over her menacingly. If Bella had never been scared of the vampire before her before, she certainly was now. Was he really going to hurt her right now with Charlie just down stairs? If he did her screaming would alert her father, forcing Edward to flee.

The vampire continued to stare at her, smelling her fear of him. This was the first time he had experienced this smell with the human girl, and he found that he didn't like it. Bella wasn't supposed to be afraid of him. She was supposed to love him, and now she was telling him she loved that wretched dog. A sparkle caught his eye near the wall of Bella's room, drawing his attention away from her. Straightening up he was surprised to see that it was the diamond heart he had placed on the hideous bracelet that Black had made for her along with that horrible piece of wood he called art on it. However, seeing it on the floor practically discarded upset him deeply. Walking over to it he bent down and picked it up and asked, "How did this happen?"

"Two weeks ago I went to the Reservation to see if Jake had returned home yet. Sam and Paul were there and Paul said some words that caused me to return home in tears. I took the bracelet off and threw it against the wall and the charm broke off," Bella answered truthfully."

"And I'm assuming that the dog's charm broke off as well?"

"No, it remained on the bracelet."

Edward scowled as he heard her words and noticed that she was currently wearing said bracelet. His diamond heart broke off of the bracelet and not the wooden wolf carving when she threw it. It was almost as if his charm breaking off was a catalyst for what was happening right now. He wouldn't believe it however, he refused to. Shaking his head with a smirk on his face, he said, "You may think that Jacob Black is right for you, but you will see soon that you made a mistake in leaving me at the altar today. Once he rejects you, you will come running back to me and I will be waiting with open arms."

He placed the diamond heart in her hand and made her close her fingers around it. He kissed the back of her hand, his cold lips causing Bella to flinch. Edward frowned a bit before saying, "I shall be waiting, my love. Until then, I'll have Alice watching out for you." And with that he was gone out of the window.

Bella didn't know what she was feeling in that moment, but she knew that the one thing she did feel was rage at Edward for thinking that she would just go back to him if Jacob rejected her. If Jacob rejected her, she would continue to keep trying until he finally accepted her. Edward would just have to get over himself and accept that she was never going back to him.

Opening her palm she looked down at the expensive piece of rock in her hand. When Edward had first placed it on her bracelet, she felt guilty for allowing him to do so on a gift Jacob had given her. It had been a heavy weight, not as heavy as the ring that was on her finger, though.

Shit! The ring! She forgot to give it back to him. She knew he was probably back at home by now, and she really didn't want to go back to the Cullen's place to face everybody. Maybe Rosalie would come and return it for her. Making a decision she reached into her pocket where she remembered she had placed her phone from earlier that morning before she had changed out of them to put on her wedding dress. Scrolling down her contact list she found Rosalie's number and dialed it, placing the phone to her ear.

 _"_ _Bella, what is it? Edward just got here and he looked almost like he had accomplished something and now all he had to do is wait for it to happen,"_ Rosalie's voice sounded through the phone after she answered.

"Hey, Rose. He was here in my room waiting for me. He was going on about how I will go running back to him after Jake rejects me. But can you come over? I forgot to give him his ring back and I don't want to go over there right now and face the rest of the family," Bella said.

 _"_ _Ugh, that pompous bastard! Sure thing, I'll be over in five minutes,_ " Rosalie said, the sound of an engine sounding off in the background.

"Okay, see you in a bit, speed demon," Bella said, listening to the blond vampire's laughter before hanging up. She blew out a puff of air before deciding to head back downstairs. She walked into the kitchen to make herself a sandwich when the house phone rang. Charlie called for her to answer, which she was going to do anyway.

"Hello?" she said into the phone.

 _"_ _Hey Bella, it's me, Seth. Just to let you know, Jake and my sister are back, and she is about to go on patrol with Sam and Jared. If you want to talk to Jake, you need to come over now. He's at home watching the rest of the Mariners game with Billy,"_ Seth said.

Bella thanked him quickly before hanging up and going to tell her dad that she was heading over to the Reservation. Once she did she grabbed the keys to her truck and left the house, only to find Rosalie waiting on the hood of her convertible.

"Headed off back to the land of the Quileute tribe again, I see. Want me to give you another ride over there?" Rosalie asked as Bella handed her the diamond heart and the engagement ring after she took it off of her finger.

The brunette declined and told her she would go on her own. She then hopped into her truck and brought the thing to life, backing out of the driveway and driving down the road towards the Reservation. The whole way she prayed to any god that would listen that Jacob would take the time to hear her out before he turned her away. And most of all, she hoped that he wouldn't turn her away to consider a relationship with Leah Clearwater.


	8. Chapter 8

Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 8

Bella was relieved when she pulled up to the little red house and saw Jacob walk into the Taj Mahal, _alone._ Stopping the pickup, he shut it off and clambered out of it, tripping over her feet as she hurried to garage. Making it to the entrance she saw Jacob working under the hood of another car. Taking a breath she said, "Jake."

Jacob's body tensed when he heard the voice of his beloved. Why was Bella here? Why wasn't she at her wedding reception? Straightening up, the young man turned around and looked wide-eyed at the brunette girl. There she was standing in the entrance to his garage, looking at him with something akin to relief and love in her eyes. Wait, love? Bella had claimed that she loved him, just not enough. But the way her eyes sparkled with the emotion was the same way she would look at or talk about Cullen, only intensified.

"What are you doing here, Bella? Shouldn't you be at your wedding reception right now?" Jacob asked, deciding to not beat around the bush concerning her presence. He watched as Bella shook her head and stepped inside the garage, her hand toying with the bracelet on her wrist. It was then that the Quileute noticed that the gaudy diamond that the leech had placed on it was no longer hanging from it. The bracelet looked exactly like how it did when he had first given it to her.

"I'm supposed to be, but I changed my mind," Bella said looking him squarely in the face. "I ran out and left Edward at the altar. Rosalie helped me as well. She said that there was no shame in jilting the groom if I felt that marrying him wasn't right. And, and I kept hearing you tell me that I was making a mistake, that I needed to be honest with myself."

Jacob couldn't believe his ears. Bella had literally left the groom at the altar and ran away from the wedding. Belatedly he noticed that she was no longer wearing that oversized piece of jewelry on her left hand, letting him know that she had given it back. But just to make sure, he asked, "What are you saying, Bella?"

Bella took a deep breath and walked closer to Jacob, stopping just inches from him. Opening her mouth, she said, "I called off the wedding and the engagement. I ran away from a life that I had talked myself into believing that I wanted. I gave Edward his ring and the diamond charm back. I did all of this because I finally realized that you were right. I am in love with you, Jacob Black. I was stubborn to insist that I wasn't, but I am. You once said that if I chose you, it would be as easy as breathing, and it was. I realized that I don't love Edward, not like I had convinced myself I had; I haven't since he left and you patched me back together. My heart already belonged to you and I never knew it until earlier today. I chose you over Edward; I want to spend the rest of my life with you, if you'll have me."

She had ended her speech with tears filling her chocolate brown eyes. Oh, how she hoped that Jacob wouldn't reject her. She had just poured out her heart, now all she could do now in this crucial moment was hope it wasn't in vain.

Jacob's head was spinning with the young woman's confession. Bella Swan, the love of his life for years, had just ran out on her fiancé (ex-fiance at that) to come and tell him that she was in love with him. It was almost too good to be true. He discreetly pinched himself just to make sure that this moment in front of him was for real. Seeing that it was, Jacob backed away from the girl and sat on an overturned crate, his head in his hand. This was way too much for him to take in right now, especially when just hours ago she was rejecting him dressed in a wedding dress. Gripping his hair he looked up at Bella and almost cringed at the hopeful look he was giving her. He was about to ruin her mood with his next words.

"Bella, thanks for letting me know this, but I have to be honest. It hurts me to have to say this, but I don't want to be with you right now," Jacob said.

"B-But Jake-

"I said not right now, Bells; I didn't say 'never'. It's just that this is too much for me to take right now. I mean, just hours ago you were telling me that there was no way that you would ever choose me over Cullen, and now you're here professing your love for me? Give me a break, my head is spinning. But tell me this: is it really true that you're done with Cullen?"

Bella nodded in confirmation, making Jacob's heart beat faster in his chest. His chance was finally here, he could finally make Bella his. However he refused to give in just yet. Standing back up, he walked over to his best friend and wrapped his arms around her in a hug, holding her close to him. The girl returned the hug and snuggled deeply into the boy's warmth. This was where she belonged, where she felt right and safe, here in these strong arms.

Jacob pulled back just enough to look at her, staring deeply into her eyes. It was there he saw that she had spoken the truth to him. She really had chosen him, even if the timing of it was a little late. She had almost gotten married after all. Still holding her, he said, "Just give me a few days to sort my thoughts out, okay? You did kind of spring this on me suddenly."

"Okay," Bella said softly. Remembering about him being with Leah, she asked, "Jake, you aren't thinking of dating Leah, are you?"

"No, I'm not. She's a cool girl and all, but I don't see myself with her romantically or anything like that. I know that she has a crush on me, but I don't have the heart to tell her that I'll never be able to like her the way she likes me," Jacob answered honestly, looking a little sad that that was the case, but he couldn't help how he felt. Bella nodded and gave him a reassuring hug before pulling away and looking him in the eyes once again.

It was then that Jacob felt as if the earth had stopped spinning on its axis and all the pieces of his life had fallen into place. All he could see was a future and it had Bella all throughout it. Surprisingly enough, Bella was experiencing the same exact feeling Jacob was feeling. It was so powerful that she gasped and held onto her best friend as tightly as she could, her knees buckling under her. Jacob held onto her and continued staring into those brown eyes he loved so much, feeling the urge to kiss Bella overwhelm him.

Without hesitating, he bent down just as Bella leant up, their lips connecting in a sweet, intimate kiss. It wasn't like their last one, which was desperate; no, this one was all that he imagined it to be. Pulling away, they looked into each other in the eyes again before their lips slammed back together, hungrily this time and their hands touching wherever they could.

The two of them sank down to the ground of the garage still kissing, and Jacob lay on top of Bella. No words were exchanged, but it was apparent what they both wanted in that moment. Wasting no time, they undressed each other until they were both completely nude. Jacob stopped kissing Bella for a minute and went searching though his tool boxes, looking for a condom. He finally found one and quickly opened it, rolling the piece of latex onto his erection. Jacob couldn't wait, he couldn't take the time to perform foreplay on Bella; his wolf wasn't allowing it. It was as if his wolf was in heat and was in a hurry to claim its mate.

Giving Bella a kiss, Jacob sank into her, causing her to moan loudly into his mouth. The two of them moved frantically, wanting to please each other while also trying to find and reach release. Before long, they both had and collapsed on the ground. Breathing heavily, Jacob held Bella close and whispered, "I love you, Bells."

Bella smiled and whispered back, "I love you, too." She giggled and then said in a teasing voice, "I thought you said to give you a few days."

Jacob chuckled and sat up to look at her, saying, "I did, but something happened and I suddenly wanted nothing than to be with you right here, right now."

The brunette smiled and pulled the Native back down to kiss him again, which he did passionately. However, the sound of a car door shutting caught their attention, and the voices of their fathers drifted into the garage.

 **Author's Note: Hello, everyone. Thank you to all of you that have been reading and following my story. Now, I know that there are readers who are concerned about Leah and who she could possibly end up with. I have set up a poll dealing with Leah and who she could be with romantically in the future of this story. I would really appreciate it if you all could take the time and vote for Leah's future companion. Thanks so much, and I hope you all continue to enjoy the story! Love, SehunsBae37**


	9. Chapter 9

Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

 **Author's Note: This chapter will be focused on the Cullen family and what has occurred with the family after the canceled wedding. I hope you enjoy it and don't forget to vote on my poll for Leah's future partner. Love, SehunsBae37.**

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 9

The atmosphere at the Cullen mansion was tense. The wedding that was supposed to happen hours ago had not occurred, and the jilted groom was nowhere to be found, but neither was Rosalie. Carlisle had suggested everyone change out of their formal attire and into comfortable clothes for the time being, which the vampires did. When they had returned back to the living room area, Alice finally said, "I can't see her. I can't see Bella anymore."

"What? But that's impossible, unless…" Esme said.

"She's with that dog, Jacob Black! But even then, her future disappeared today," Alice said softly. Everyone looked at her in disbelief, surprised at the new information. Carlisle recovered quicker and asked, "Why didn't you say anything about it, Alice?"

Before the pixie like vampire could answer, the front door flew open and Rosalie stepped inside, wearing new clothes and shoes, and still looking as flawless as ever. Strutting inside and standing near Emmett, she said, "I'll tell you why she didn't say anything. She didn't tell anyone that Bella's future disappeared today because she wanted the sham of a wedding to go off without a hitch. She hasn't been able to see her future for two weeks prior to this. Alice kept it to herself and didn't even tell the golden child, not that he deserves to know anything."

"Rosalie," Carlisle chided, frowning more when Rosalie glared at him.

Jasper nodded and said just loud enough for the others to hear him, "I've also felt a change in her feelings whenever she would come over. Even today, I focused in on her emotions and she was anything but happy or excited. Those emotions came for about five minutes before dread washed over her again."

"You see? Even Jasper knew that she didn't want to get married. The only reason she agreed to that damn proposal was because she was trying to convince herself that being away from Jacob was the best thing for him. Not only that, but she also agreed because she knew that if she didn't, she wouldn't be changed as requested by the Volturi and the Volturi would have her head platter along with the slaughtering of me, Emmett, and Esme. Aro will just keep the rest of you," Rosalie said, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder.

No one said anything right off to correct the blonde female. They all knew she had a point, but Alice did not want to believe it. Shaking her head she said, "But Bella said she was excited to become part of the family."

Jasper nodded and said, "Yes, she did say that in the beginning when she had first come back from Italy. But things change and thoughts and emotions change over time. If I'm being honest right now, Bella's feelings for Edward were not as strong as they once had been after we returned to Forks."

"That is not true. Bella has always loved me when we returned the same way she did before we left," Edward's voice suddenly spoke. The rest of the family turned their heads to see Edward standing behind the sofa. He had come in through the back door and had heard what everyone was talking about. Edward didn't like what Jasper had said just now. Bella still loved him and she was going to marry him soon, he was sure of that.

Walking around the couch, Edward said, "I went to go and see her. She has deluded herself into thinking she is in love with Jacob Black. But I am positive that soon she will come back to her senses, realize her mistake, and we will be together again and for eternity. After all, she promised me forever, and promises are made to be kept."

Rosalie scoffed and said, "Oh please, promises were made for breaking, you douche bag. And her "coming back to her senses" as you so put it is not going to happen. She's made her choice, and it's not you. Quite frankly, I'm glad it's not you. I don't know anyone crazy enough to want to be with a control freak like you."

"Shut up, you twat. You don't know anything about Bella. You've never made an effort to know her," Edward said suddenly in her face. Emmett growled at his brother and shoved him back away from his mate.

"No, _you_ don't know anything about Bella. If you did, that means you have read her mind. Oh wait, you can't can you? That's why you began stalking her in the first place, jackass. And I've said this before, it's your fault we're in the mess we're in and why she knows so much about the vampire world. But it's not just you, it's also Carlisle," Rosalie said with a hard expression before turning her fiery gaze to her father figure.

Carlisle was taken aback at the look he was given. He had seen his adopted daughter angry before, but not like this. As calmly as he could, he asked, "How it is also my fault, Rosalie?"

Rosalie gave him an expression of disbelief. Shaking her head she said, "Are you kidding me? You should know, Carlisle. After all, you've coddled him and have allowed him to basically do what he wants. You didn't stop him from not only getting close to Bella, but also exposing her to what we are and how dangerous we can be. And not only that, but you've allowed him to call the shots, and let Alice have a hand in it, too. Now what kind of a man does that make you? You are our coven leader, but you are weak. You have done nothing to keep this family out from under the eyes of the Volturi. By letting Dickward take the lead, you have put us in danger and the life of an innocent girl is kind of hanging in the balance. You do know that it's your relationship with Aro that any of us are alive right now, right? That is, if you can even call us alive. Now tell me that I'm wrong."

There was absolute silence. No one said anything, shocked at the speech Rosalie had given. Not even Jasper tried using his empathy ability to diffuse the tension. In fact he believed it needed to be felt; he ignored the glare Edward shot his way, calling him a bitch in his mind so he could hear it. Seeing that no one could counter her argument, Rosalie smirked and said, "Didn't think so. I've put up with a lot in this family. But you know what? I'm sick of the bullshit. I'm done here, and you can all kiss my ass for all I care. I'm packing my clothes and going somewhere that's not fucking here, but still in the area." And with that, she left in a blur up the stairs.

Two minutes later Rosalie returned down the stairs with two overly large suitcases. She headed out the front door for her red convertible before stopping suddenly. Setting one of her suitcases down, she reached into her pocket and pulled out something before throwing it at Edward who instantly caught it. Emmett walked over to his mate and said, "Rosie, let me know where you finally settle so I can come too."

Rosalie smiled and gave her cuddle bear a kiss before finally leaving out of the front door with her suitcases. Placing them in the backseat, she got in the driver's seat and started the car, driving away from the mansion, never to return again.

Edward looked down in his hand and his eyes widened at what he saw. There lying in the palm of his hand was the diamond heart charm he had given Bella, as well as the engagement. Bella had given them to Rosalie to give back to him. The action spoke for her: Bella wasn't going to choose him again. She had chosen Jacob Black.

Putting the ring on the table in front of him, Edwards's fist closed around the diamond heart. He squeezed until the rock shattered in his hand before dropping them onto the floor. Snarling, he hissed, "That dog will pay for this. I'll get him for this one day."

Before any of the others could stop him, Edward was gone. Esme looked extremely worried and fled upstairs to hers and Carlisle's bedroom. Alice looked over to Jasper anxiously who stared back at her with a blank expression. Emmett looked over at Carlisle who was standing completely still, saying, "She's right, you know." And then he went upstairs as well to his room, chuckling when he found all of the shoes his mate left with a note that said _Bring me my shoes when you can._

Carlisle slowly walked up to his study, closing the door behind him and locking it. Sitting behind his desk he placed his face in his hands. He felt weary and he wished not for the first time that he could have a headache. But most of all, he wished that he could say his daughter had been wrong. He didn't like thinking bad of Edward, he was his first son. But he knew now that there were going to be major repercussions because of his eldest's actions. For the first time ever, Carlisle didn't know what to do, and was worried about the future of his family.


	10. Chapter 10

Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 10

Bella and Charlie were talking quietly in the kitchen the next morning over a breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and waffles. They were both anxiously waiting for Renee to show up and for the scene she was sure to cause over the events that happened yesterday.

Charlie for one did not care that his ex-wife was going to raise hell about the abandoned wedding and groom. He was absolutely glad that his daughter finally came to her senses and dumped the Cullen boy. He wasn't sure if she finally saw him for the controlling, creepy, spoiled brat that he saw him to be, but it didn't matter anymore; his baby girl was away from him and was now with the boy that he did consider his son.

Speaking of said boy, Jacob was currently sleeping upstairs on Bella's bed. Charlie had found him in Bella's room in her bed with her while she was sleeping, him asleep as well. Considering the newly developed relationship between the two, Charlie decided to let them be. But he also knew that Bella was still a tad mortified about the encounter she and Jacob had had the day before with their dads.

 _(Flashback)_

 _Charlie had just pulled up to the Black house with Billy, as he had went to go and pick him up from the liquor store where the Uley boy had taken him. Apparently Sam saw fit to call him and tell him that Billy seemed to be hell-bent on buying out the store to celebrate the runaway bride. Anyway, he had picked him up, allowed him to buy two bottles of liquor, and he took him home. When he pulled up, both he and his best friend had seen Bella's truck parked outside the little red house. They both assumed that their children might be inside talking out their issues. As Charlie was helping Billy out of his cruiser and into his wheelchair, they heard the sound of something falling coming from the garage, followed by a curse._

 _Wondering what could be going on, the two adults silently made their way to the garage and were shocked at what they found. Jacob was lying on top of Bella, shirtless and legs tangled up in his jeans and his ass bared for the world to see; Bella was in her bra and her shirt, pants, and underwear were next to her. You couldn't see her intimates, but the situation was still embarrassing. Charlie, who was red in the face, turned around and headed back toward the house. Billy, who personally found the entire thing funny, calmly told the two to meet him and Charlie inside once they were decent._

 _Afterwards, Jacob and Bella endured an hour long talk about having sex right before almost getting married, using condoms during sex, having the decency to do it somewhere that wasn't close to either of their houses or in them, and whatever else Charlie could think to say at that moment. When he finished, Billy simply asked, "Bella, are you positive that you are truly in love with my son?"_

 _"_ _Yes, Billy. I know it has taken me some time and I've brought a lot of heartache towards him and the others, but I do. And I know you are just trying to protect Jake, but I promise that this time my mind is set and I know that I belong anywhere that Jake is," Bella said with the utmost certainty. Jacob smiled at his love, pleased with her speech and internally telling the bloodsucker to eat it. Billy seemed satisfied with the answer and nodded his head, welcoming her into the family as his future daughter-in-law. Charlie, who was still a little upset at finding his daughter naked and not a virgin anymore, calmed down and also welcomed Jacob, even though he had done so already._

 _Jacob had then said he wanted to talk to Billy alone for a while, and Charlie and Bella left in the cruiser, Jacob promising to drive her truck back to their house later. Charlie wondered what they could be talking about, but just figured it was probably important if it required a private father-son talk._

 _(End Flashback)_

"Dad, I heard a car door," Bella's voice said, breaking the man out of his thoughts. He sighed and told her to go and greet her mother while he cleaned up a bit. Bella was not really in the mood to listen to her mother's bitching, but knew she would have to face her sooner or later. A knock on the door brought her out of her musings and she sighed. Getting up from the table she walked over to the front door and took a deep breath before grabbing the door handle and opening the door.

There on the other side of the threshold was her mother, Renee. The woman was currently looking at the rest of the neighborhood with a bit of disdain before turning back to see her only child standing in the open door.

"Hello, Bella. May I come in?" Renee said before moving past Bella and into her old home. Bella frowned and mumbled, "Nice to see you too, mom." She closed the door and walked after her mother who had navigated to the living room. Renee was looking around with her hands on her hips before saying, "Well, I see that Charlie hasn't done a single thing to change this place since I left. He's still stuck in the past."

"Mom, can we just get to why you're here?" Bella asked a little impatiently. She was not in the mood to deal with her currently, and she definitely did not want to hear her mother bad talk her father anymore. Charlie was a good man and a good father. He was there for her in her time of need, even if she didn't appreciate it and he always tried to do what was best for her; he even almost went through with walking her down the aisle at her wedding yesterday, no matter how reluctant he was about the whole thing and her choice in partner, just to see her happy. It made her realize how selfish she had been for the past year. Her father suffered in silence because of her decisions just so that she could be happy, and it made her want to cry.

Renee looked at Bella in surprise at the tone she had used toward her. Bella had never spoken to her as if she didn't want to speak to her or as if she was suddenly impatient with her. She wondered if being back in this backwater town had something to do with her daughter's change in attitude. But first, she needed to get to the bottom of Bella's departure from the wedding yesterday. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Sweetheart, let's talk about what happened yesterday. You ran out on such a beautiful and extravagant wedding, not to mention the handsome groom. Would you mind telling me why?"

Bella cut her eyes to the side for a bit and crossed her arms over her chest before saying, "I ran out because I realized I was making a mistake. I didn't want to get married, and I still don't; at least, not for another couple of years. And even when I do, it won't be to Edward."

Baffled, Renee pressed on, saying, "But he and his family have money, Bella! He could give you a great life, one that is so much better than this. He could take you around the world and anywhere you would like to go instead of this drab old town. And you would be able to buy and do anything you wanted. And all the while, be loved, treated, and live like a queen."

"Is that all you care about, mom? Money?" Bella asked in disgust. She looked at her mother as if she didn't even know who she was anymore. "You really think that I was with Edward for money? I was with Edward because I thought I loved him, and that's why I was marrying him. But I realized that I don't love him, and haven't for a long time. I was just deluding myself into believing I did because I was in denial about my true feelings."

"Sweetheart, I'm just saying that Edward can provide for you."

"Yeah, he can, but I don't want Edward, and I could care less that he could provide for me."

Before Renee could come back with another comment, Charlie's deep voice said, "That's enough, Renee." Mother and daughter turned to see Charlie standing in the entrance to the living room with a hard expression on his face.

Charlie had heard the conversation that had took place, and he couldn't believe that the woman he had once been head over heels for and was the mother of his child the money driven woman standing in his home. It was obvious she considered money was what was going to make a happy home and marriage. No wonder she was all for the wedding when she found out Bella was engaged. The boy obviously came from a wealthy family and probably had a bank account that could make up the cost of his house, car, and the neighborhood.

Renee sniffed with a frown before saying, "Charlie. Still sporting that horrid mustache, I see. It's not very becoming of you."

"I disagree. Now if you're done talking about my appearance, let's get back to the earlier conversation. From what I could gather, you just want our daughter married to that punk for his money,"

"That is not true. I just said that I want her to be taken care of. Edward and his sister told me Bella had run off to Billy Black's son. I'm just trying to understand how she could leave someone like Edward for Billy's son? If she moved to where they live, she would have no life. Our daughter needs a good fit, someone who is good enough for her, and I don't see your friend's son as the answer," Renee said, putting her hands on her hips.

Bella was livid. How dare her mother insinuate that Jacob wasn't good enough for her? Before she knew what she was doing, her hand had reached across her body and flew back, the back of her hand smacking Renee across the face. Renee let out a startled yelp as she grabbed her cheek, stumbling from the impact and falling onto the couch. Looking up with wide eyes, she saw her daughter breathing heavily as she stalked towards her.

Bending down so she was looking her mother in her face, she yelled, "How dare you say that? You don't even know Jacob! Did it ever occur to you that maybe I don't need money to be happy with someone? Jacob loves me for me, and doesn't need to buy my love! Yes, he may not come from a rich background like Edward, but he works hard for what he has earned and one day, I will gladly live on the Reservation with Jacob. I don't need material things or to be treated like a queen, as you so put it. I'm not attracted to wealth, like you apparently are. Is that why you even married Phil? Because he has money? Do you even love him? I know dad treated you like a queen and did his best to make you happy, but you never appreciated it. So who are you to tell me about the decisions I've made? If you're so concerned about the money Edward has and what he can do with it, why don't you go and be with him and let him kiss you're lily white ass? I don't know who you are, but you are not my mother. And as far as I'm concerned, you're dead to me."

Bella ran out of the living room and up the stairs to her room, slamming the door behind her, effectively waking Jacob up from his slumber. Through his groggy vision, he could see Bella's flustered face and the angry tears standing in her eyes. Sitting up in her bed, he held out his arms and said, "Bells."

The girl rushed into Jacob's arms and allowed him to sit her on his lap, letting her hug him and cry her tears. He didn't know what happened to cause her to be this way, but he was going to comfort her until she calmed down. Kissing her head, he rocked her and hummed an old Quileute song that slowly lulled Bella into sleep. After situating them into lying down, Jacob still continued to hold her, continuously giving her comfort as she slept.

Back downstairs, Renee was still sitting in shock from being backhanded by her daughter. Charlie, though also shocked, didn't feel as if he needed to scold Bella later on for her words and actions. Bella said what was on her mind and he couldn't fault her for it.

Looking down at his ex-wife, he said, "Well, I believe your presence here is no longer required. Please show yourself out while I go and check on my daughter." And with that, Charlie left the living room and headed upstairs, leaving Renee by herself. Renee sat in silence for a while, a hand still on her now red cheek. She didn't know what had gotten into Bella, but she didn't like it and she blamed Charlie. Standing up from the couch, she walked through the house and to the front door to her rental car. Getting inside, she looked at herself in the mirror, frowning at the red mark marring her skin, before cranking the car and driving away from the yellow house and back to the hotel.

 **Author's Note: The poll has been taken down, as I will be going a different route.**


	11. Chapter 11

Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 11

Bella and Jake were taking a walk along First Beach, hand in hand and enjoying the quiet. It had been a rather trying morning for Bella and Jacob wanted to take her somewhere to relax her. After all, he himself had spent many hours sitting on the beach contemplating his life, whether it had to do with Pack duties, his rivalry with the bloodsucker, or his undying love for Bella. Either way, just being here out in the open of the salty air and listening to the waves roll onto the shore calmed him, and he hoped it would do the same for Bella.

Speaking of Bella, she was breathing in the fresh air, letting it sink into her senses. She loved walking along the sandy beach holding Jacob's hand, the heels of their shoes sinking into the sand as they walked. She remembered how just a year ago she had been here with her high school friends and Jacob and his friends had showed up, and how she failed at her attempts of flirtation with Jacob as she pried any information he had on the Cullen family so she could figure out Edward's true nature. She was ashamed now that she had done that, using her best friend that way just because she was too stubborn to ignore the vampire. Bella knew Jacob had liked her back then and used it against him. It made her wonder if that made her a bad person. She had used her new boyfriend to learn about her old boyfriend, then let herself become completely immersed in his world and family, completely ignoring her other friends and by some extension her father, and then willingly allowed herself to be caught up in so much shit that she felt as if she needed to bend to others' will to keep the peace. Bella always had a bit of a low self-esteem, and then ends up dating a vampire that made herself feel even more inadequate. How messed up in the head was she?

But Jacob, Jacob made her feel beautiful and better about herself without any effort. Sure, he told her all the time that she was beautiful and worthy of him without her believing it, but now she did and couldn't be happier knowing that no matter what, Jacob wouldn't think any less of her.

"What are you smiling about?" Jacob's voice asked, breaking through her thoughts. Looking up, Bella found Jacob smiling as he looked at her, his eyes shining. She didn't realize that they had stopped walking until just now. Blushing she shook her head and answered, "Nothing really."

Jacob smiled and teasingly poked her saying, "Now come on, Bells. I know you better than that. Come on, tell me what's on your mind."

Bella giggled and said, "Alright, alright. I was just thinking how lucky I am to have you and how you helped me realize that I'm perfect just the way I am."

"Wow, Bella. That…that was so cheesy!" Jacob said, running away from his girlfriend when she hit him in his shoulder, giving chase to him the moment he began running.

"You jerk! You were the one who wanted to know!" Bella yelled after him, laughter on her lips as she listened to the young man's laugh. She slowed her run until she was standing still, her hand over her heart as she caught her breath. Jacob, who had stopped running as well, turned around and walked back over to Bella. Once he reached her, he wrapped his arms around her and held her closely as he inhaled the sweet strawberry scent that seemed to be embedded in her brown locks.

Bella smiled contentedly and pulled away a bit to gaze up at Jacob before standing on her toes to press her lips against his. Jacob kissed her back sweetly before pulling away, a sudden serious lookon his face. Alarmed, Bella asked him what was wrong.

Jacob took a deep breath and sat down on the sand, gently pulling Bella with him until she was situated on his lap. When he made sure she was comfortable, he said, "Bells, there is something that I need to tell you. It's about what happened yesterday in the Taj."

"You mean the sex?" Bella asked with a slight blush on her cheeks. Jacob smiled a bit before it was gone, saying, "I mean what happened before that. Did you feel this really strong force when I looked you in the eye?"

Bella thought for a bit, remembering exactly what he had said had happened. She could distinctively remember that it had made her knees buckle. She remembered feeling grounded and at the same time like she was soaring. And furthermore, her thoughts only seemed to be full of nothing but Jacob.

Her eyes widened in realization of what had happened the day before. Holding Jacob's face between her hands, she whispered, "You imprinted on me."

A nod and a grin were her response, letting her know that she had hit the nail right on the head. Jacob kissed her cheek and softly said, "You see, Bella? I told you that there was only ever going to be you."

Grinning brightly Bella giggled a bit before pulling the young man's face to hers to kiss him passionately. Her kiss was returned with fervor and the two of them sat and made out for a while before pulling away for air. Putting her forehead against his, Bella whispered, "I love you, Jake."

"I love you, too," Jacob replied, kissing her lips once more. The two of them were in their own world, enjoying each other and the sensations that their kisses gave to each other when it was suddenly interrupted.

"Jake?" a voice said, catching their attention. Looking up, both Jacob and Bella felt their stomach's drop when they saw Leah standing near them with a very hurt expression on her face.

 **Author's Note: Happy New Year!**


	12. Chapter 12

Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 12

Jacob quickly stood up, bringing Bella with him, looking at Leah with a somewhat guilty expression. Bella knew that Jacob's guilt stemmed from not telling the she wolf that his feelings for her were platonic and that he didn't intend to hurt her, which was now apparent that he inadvertently did.

"Leah," Jacob started, but stopped talking when Leah shook her head. Leah glared at the couple before her, angry tears standing in her eyes. She should have known that Jacob would never have feelings for her the way she did him. For him, it was always Swan. She could have sworn the leech lover was gone on her honeymoon by now, but instead she finds her here all over Jacob. It also didn't pass her notice that she Swan was no longer wearing the bloodsucker's engagement ring. Putting the clues together, she knew that the leech lover abandoned the wedding and her bloodsucker, ran to Jacob, and Jacob welcomed her back like nothing had happened. Shaking with rage, she turned heel and ran off from the beach, hoping she'd make it to the wooded area before phasing.

"Leah!" Jacob called after her, knowing she wasn't going to stop. Turning to Bella he said, "I'm sorry Bells, but I got to make her understand."

Bella nodded and said, "It's okay, Jake. She's your Pack mate and she doesn't know you Imprinted on me. Go on, I'll head back home."

Jacob nodded and kissed Bella's cheek before running off after the she wolf. It didn't take him long to reach the woods wear he found the shreds left of Leah's clothes. Stripping out of his own clothes, he tied them to the black strap on his leg before phasing, his ginormous paws hitting the ground in a run. As he followed Leah's scent, he heard the voices of the other members of the Pack in his mind.

 _"_ _Leah, what's wrong?"_ Embry asked.

 _"_ _Leave me alone, Embry!"_ Leah screamed at him.

 _"_ _Stop being bitchy for a moment Leah, and let us help you,"_ Paul said.

 _"_ _Leah, stop running and talk to us,"_ Sam said, his voice holding a type of concern that he still only held for Leah. Don't get him wrong, he loved Emily, but Leah was also his first love and he still cared about her.

Jacob kept running, hearing the members of the Pack that had already made themselves known also give chase after the female of their Pack. He was a bit behind them but he was soon catching up. He soon caught up with Sam and began running in stride next to him as they ran all over the woods surrounding La Push, still chasing Leah. They both never really liked chasing Leah in wolf form because she was so much faster than them, but they could keep up.

Sam, while concentrating on catching Leah so they could talk, asked, _"Jake, what happened?"_

 _"_ _Leah caught Bella and I kissing on First Beach,"_ Jacob said truthfully. He ignored Paul cursing at him for still being with "that bitch" as he so put it, and focused on just Sam for a while.

 _"_ _And that upset her?"_ Sam asked in confusion.

Jacob made a noise of confirmation before saying, _"Leah has a crush on me, Sam. And I never got the chance to tell her that my feelings for her were platonic. But I was going to, okay? And I was also going to tell her that even if I wanted to be with her, I couldn't."_

Sam slowed down his run until he stopped, making Jacob stop as well. Sam stared at his Beta for a while before saying, _"You Imprinted."_

 _"_ _Yeah, I Imprinted on Bella,"_ Jacob replied.

Just then, an anguished howl filled the air, the sound hurting Jacob, Sam, Paul, and Embry. They all knew that the feminine howl was Leah, and they all once again started chasing her to try and find her.

 _"_ _You Imprinted on that sorry whore?! Fuck you,Jake!"_ Leah screamed, her voice filled with hurt before she cut herself off from the Pack, letting them know she had returned back to her human form.

Jacob sighed sadly as he slowed down just near the edge of the woods near his own home. Sam did the same and sat next to Jacob. He knew that Jacob, like him, didn't mean to hurt Leah. The only difference here was that Jacob's feelings for Leah weren't returned already, while Sam's had been before he Imprinted himself. He phased back to his human form, Jacob doing the same, and they redressed themselves before walking towards the little red house in silence.

Entering the house, they found Billy watching a soap opera on the television. The man looked up at them with a smile, but the smile fell when he saw the expressions on their faces.

"What happened?" Billy asked them. The Pack brothers sat on the couch and told Billy everything that had just happened. Billy listened quietly, nodding his head in thought as they finished. He had to admit, he hated seeing Harry's daughter hurting from not being able to find love or having her feelings thrown right back in her face. It was hard enough watching his own son suffer from unrequited love, but what Leah was going through was so much worse. Imprinting was getting in her way, the gods not letting her have any happiness for she was getting in the way of the other Pack members happiness. But Billy firmly believed that Leah would one day find her own Imprint and happiness. If not here in the Quileute tribe, then somewhere else, but she would find it.

* * *

Leah was in her room, crying as she found new clothes to put on. Putting on clean undergarments, she wiped the tears from her face as she looked in her full length mirror. She looked an emotional wreck, but she didn't care at the moment. Her feelings for Jacob weren't ever going to be returned, especially now that he was with that leech lover.

Oh, how she hated that bitch! All she did was cause trouble for Jake and the Pack. And now she thinks she can just waltz back into Jacob's life just because she abandoned her wedding yesterday and have Jacob Imprint on her. Not if Leah had anything to do with it. Chief Swan's daughter had another thing coming, and no one was going to stop her.

Putting on a clean pair of jeans and a belly-t, she put on a pair of socks and he combat boots before leaving her house, ignoring Seth's calls for her to wait. She had grabbed the keys to her car before she left the house completely, and got into her car, starting the engine and pulling away from her home. She was hell-bent on getting to Forks and giving Bella a good piece of her mind, along with a few hits just to make herself feel better.

She sped out of La Push and onto the main road that would lead her straight to Forks. Once she did make it to Forks, she cursed every single stop light that stopped her. It was almost as if some deity was trying to stop her from ever reaching the Swan house. When the red light finally turned green, she sped under it quickly, leaving the other cars behind her. It wasn't until she turned a corner did she finally stop, but not because of a stoplight this time.

Just as soon as she turned the corner, the front of her car connected with a body, making the body roll onto the hood of her car. Leah yelped in surprise and slammed on the break, sending the body flying off of the hood and onto the road from the sudden lurch.

Leah covered her mouth in shock as her eyes widened from the realization from what she had just done. Immediately putting the car in park, she got out of the car and rushed to the front, finding the person she had hit sitting up and rubbing their head.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit you!" Leah said as she knelt down in front of the person. The person, a man, looked up at her and gave her a strained smile. He had skin the same color as Leah's, silky black hair that was stopped just past his shoulder, grey eyes, and a beautifully chiseled jaw line. His chin had a slight cleft in it and it fit his features perfectly. It was obvious he had muscles on him, but not as much as any of the boys from the Pack. All in all, he was very handsome.

The man looked at Leah and said, "It's alright, I should've been watching where I was going," he said as he allowed Leah to help him to his feet.

Leah looked over him worriedly, looking for any signs of injury. Finding none on the surface, she asked, "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No, I'm fine. It's not the first time I've been hit by a car," the man chuckled. He looked at the young woman that had almost run him over, finding her very attractive on sight. Holding out his hand, he said, "My name is Kai, by the way. Kai Whitfield."

"Leah Clearwater," the she wolf replied, shaking his hand. The way Kai's grey eyes were looking at her made her blush a little before she let go of his hand, saying, "I should probably still take you to the hospital. Get in the car."

"Really Leah, I'm fine."

"Please? I'd feel much better if you still got checked out. I'm already feeling guilty about hitting you as it is."

Leah watched as Kai smiled and shook his head, agreeing to go to the hospital if only to ease her conscious. They both got into Leah's car and she drove them back into town towards the hospital, her quest to go after Bella forgotten.

* * *

Bella waited anxiously in her room as she waited to hear from her boyfriend. She had seen the way Leah looked and it made her feel bad. She knew Jacob needed to try and diffuse the situation, but knowing Leah she wouldn't listen and would probably blow off everyone and turn even bitterer.

Sitting on her bed, she began to play with her wolf charm, hoping that she would get a call from Jacob soon. After waiting for thirty minutes and still no word, she grabbed her cell phone, intent on calling him. However just before she did, a tap on her window caught her attention. Bracing herself to see Edward, she was surprised instead to see Emmett. Bella beckoned the brawny vampire inside and watched him open the window and climb into her room.

"What's up, Bella?" Emmett said with his usual smile on his face. Bella smiled and gave the cuddle bear like vampire a hug. Pulling away, she asked, "What's the occasion? You're not mad that I left Edward, are you?"

Emmett laughed and said, "No, I'm not. I was honestly surprised that you didn't ditch him earlier after we came back. But I guess after everything we put you through, I thought that you thought it would be better to just stick around."

Bella couldn't really blame Emmett for that. So much had happened to her because of Edward that it really did seem like there was no other option but to join the Cullen family coven. She felt Emmett sit next to her on her bed and he wrapped an arm around her, giving her his silent comfort. After a few minutes of silence, he said, "I'm actually here because I was asked to check on you for Rosie."

"That's nice of her. She sent me a text last night letting me know that she's moved into an apartment in here in town. That was fast," Bella said after a slight giggle.

"Yeah, she said a lot of things yesterday when we were discussing you ditching Eddie and why. But in short, she basically called Eddie a jerk and told Carlisle he wasn't fit to be a coven leader. And after that she packed up and left, but not before leaving me a note to bring her shoes," Emmett said, finishing his statement with an amused shake of his head.

Bella felt a bit guilty at the moment, feeling as if she caused a rift in the family and the only ones on her side right now were Rosalie and Emmett. But she also couldn't help how she felt. It took her so long to be honest with herself about what she really wanted and she'd be damned if she allowed herself to be guilt tripped back into another relationship with Edward. Their relationship was hazardous at best. She hated herself for letting her parents' relationship flaw her opinion of what romantic love was, but being with Jacob helped her see that love wasn't infatuation or obsession. Ironically, that was what her supposed love for Edward was.

Looking up at Emmett, Bella asked, "Are you going to move in with Rosalie?"

"Of course I am! I can't be apart for too long from my Rosie!" Emmett exclaimed with a grin. Bella laughed at his happy expression, knowing he was right. Emmett absolutely adored his mate and didn't want to be apart from her for too long. The two of them continued to talk, moving their conversation downstairs as Bella decided to make some lunch. It wasn't until Jacob showed up did Emmett leave, but not before making Jacob promise to take care of her. Bella chuckled at the playful banter the two of them shared before Emmett left.

Jacob walked up behind his girlfriend and hugged her from behind, breathing in her sweet scent past the scent of the friendly leech that had just left. Holding her close he whispered, "I love you."

Bella smiled and whispered, "I love you, too." Bella was so happy at the moment; nothing could ruin it for her.

* * *

In the throne room of Volterra Castle, Aro, Caius, and Marcus all sat waiting for their ambassadors to return and inform them of Carlisle's son's wedding and that him and his new bride were on their honeymoon. The throne room was silent other than Jane and Alec talking quietly, though it was loud to the vampires around them. Moments later the doors to the throne room opened and the two ambassadors that had been sent to Fork, Washington walked inside. They bent down on their knees before the three royals and waited for Aro to tell them to rise. Once he did they stood and waited for their king to speak.

"I presume that young Edward and Isabella have had their nuptial, yes?" Aro said expectantly, a slight smile on his face.

The female ambassador shook her head with her red eyes looking into Aro's, saying, "No sir, they did not marry."

"The one they call Bella began crying before reaching the altar and ran away from the ceremony with the blonde female of Carlisle's coven," the male ambassador stated after his partner.

Aro stood in silence, surprised at the news he had just received. Carlisle had been so sure when he told him that Isabella was serious about Edward and their engagement. He wondered what changed, and why Carlisle hadn't contacted him as soon as the wedding appeared to be a failure.

"Brother," Marcus' voice softly said. "What do you propose we do about the situation?"

"The promise Carlisle presented us with has not been kept," Caius said afterwards.

Aro stood still for a moment before an ominous smile slowly spread across his face. Turning to face his brothers he said, "I believe it is time to pay a visit to Fork, Washington and visit our dear friend."


	13. Chapter 13

Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

 **Quick Author's Note: Thanks so much for still reading my story. I hope that as it progresses you all will continue to enjoy it. Your kind comments make me very happy! Love, SehunsBae37**

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 13

"Ugh! Oh, yes! Jacob!" Bella cried as she bounced on Jacob's throbbing length, her fingers tweaking her nipples. Somehow she and Jacob had moved from the kitchen to her bedroom leaving a trail of clothes along the staircase. Their underwear was in her doorway and they didn't even make it to the bed; that had occurred about twenty minutes ago.

Jacob groaned and held onto Bella's hips, helping to guide her movements as he thrusted up to meet her movements. God, he loved Bella and loved being able to connect with her not only emotionally, but physically as well. Sure they could be intimate without the sex, but he also wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to have Bella the way she was right now.

He groaned as he felt his orgasm approaching, and from the way that Bella's movements became more frantic, hers was close as well. He stared at his Imprint as she looked down at him, her chocolate eyes boring into his lustfully, while at the same time holding the love she had for him. Jacob knew his own eyes reflected those same emotions and was happy in that moment that his fight for Bella (though he had decided to give up) hadn't been for naught and that she had come back to him.

Bella gave a high pitch squeal as she came hard on Jacob's erection, clenching her legs and inner muscles as she covered him in her juices. Jacob groaned in pleasure at the feeling and quickly pulled Bella off of him, his semen exploding from him just seconds after she had sat on his torso. He gave heavy pants as he began to catch his breath while Bella moaned at feeling Jacob's warm semen land on her lower back and slide down. She also caught her breath before leaning down and planting her lips against her boyfriend's, kissing him passionately.

"We've made a mess just now," Jacob chuckled when he pulled away from kissing Bella. Bella grinned and replied, "We could take a shower together."

Jacob laughed at her hidden suggestion before nodding and sitting up off the floor. He watched Bella stand up off of him, only to fall over and her naked body hit the floor. He laughed when he realized that her legs were shaking and she hadn't gotten her balance. Bella glared at him and told him he could shower by himself before standing and leaving her bedroom to head to the bathroom; the bathroom door slamming shut and the lock clicking in place let him know that he really did have to shower alone.

Chuckling he stood up and left to gather his and Bella's clothes off of the staircase, bringing them back to her bedroom and separating them on her bed. He waited for about ten minutes before Bella came out of the bathroom in a towel before giving her a kiss on the cheek and leaving to take his own shower.

Just as Bella put her underclothes back on, a voice startled her saying, "The sex smell is overly potent."

Giving a screech, Bella used her jeans to try and cover her body, turning to see Rosalie sitting in her rocking chair. Rosalie gave her an amused smile before asking, "Was it good? How big is he?"

"Rosalie! What are you doing here? And that's none of your business!" Bella exclaimed, embarrassed that once again, her and Jacob's sex life was known. She however forgot that Jacob's sensitive ears had heard her screech because the next thing she knew, he was in her room naked and wet from the shower.

"Bells, what is it?" he asked concerned, only to smell the scent of vampire. Turning his head he saw the one he called 'Blondie' sitting in the rocking chair, her amber eyes roaming his body in interest.

Rosalie nodded and said, "Yes, I'm going to assume it was _very_ good. Not as long as Emmett, but definitely thicker; good choice."

Bella groaned as her face turned several shades of red, using her jeans to cover her face instead of her body. Jacob was also embarrassed and awkwardly told Bella he was going to finish showering. Once he left for the bathroom again, Bella put on her jeans and her v-neck t-shirt, but not before putting her deodorant on. Sitting on her bed, she avoided eye contact with Rosalie while saying, "I heard you moved out of the house."

"Yeah, I did. I'm sick of being around those twits. Jasper and Esme are fine, but the others can choke for all I care," Rosalie said while inspecting her nails.

Despite the obvious hatred behind the vampire's words, Bella couldn't help but smile a little. Leave it to Rosalie to be utterly and completely blunt with her thoughts. She finally looked up to meet the amber eyes and said, "It's good to see you again after you helped me out yesterday."

Rosalie smiled and nodded, telling her that she needed to come and visit her place some time. The brunette agreed and told her about everything that had happened. While they were talking Jacob came back with a towel around his waist and grabbed his clothes, leaving again to dress in the bathroom. Rosalie giggled and said, "He's too embarrassed to dress himself here because of what I said."

"Well I can't blame him," Bella said, instantly defending her mate. With that thought suddenly passing, she said, "Just so you know, Jake Imprinted on me yesterday. And now I'm his mate."

"So that means that you will be Mrs. Alpha Black one day. Nice," Rosalie said.

Jacob walked back into the room fully dressed and said, "Well, I'm still Beta and Sam is still the Alpha."

"But the position is your rightful place, right? I've met your great-grandfather, so I know that it's your rightful place."

"Sam offered me the position but I declined because I felt I wasn't ready. He told me that was his only offer and since I declined, he isn't going to give position of Alpha away without a fight."

"Then fight him, you moron. You were chosen by your gods to be the next Alpha; it's your destiny. Especially now that Bella has become your true mate. Give Sam a good kick in the balls and tell him that he can't have what's yours."

Bella frowned and said, "You almost make it sound like he's taken his woman or something."

Rosalie shrugged and said, "If the Alpha wolf position is like a relationship, then I'm making a good scenario."

Jacob and Bella couldn't help but laugh at the blonde's statement, her nonchalant expression making it funnier. Jacob thought about what Blondie had said and figured that she was right. Deciding to go and claim his Alpha heritage, he gave Bella a kiss before telling her he would see her later. He headed downstairs and put his shoes and socks back on before leaving the Swan house, getting into his Rabbit and heading back to the Reservation.

* * *

At the hospital, Leah waited in the Waiting Room for Kai to come out of the examination room. God, she couldn't believe that she had hit someone! She just sincerely hoped that the man was alright.

Five minutes later Kai came out with a smile on his face. Leah stood and met him halfway, asking, "So what did they say?"

"I'm just fine. I have a slight bruise on my hip, but it will heal," Kai said. Grinning he said, "Now you can stop worrying that you almost killed me."

"Okay, well thank goodness. Again, I'm really sorry," Leah said with a small smile on her face.

Kai nodded and walked with the Native girl out of the hospital. Despite the fact that she had almost ran him over, he couldn't help but find Leah interesting and he wanted to get to know her better. When they reached her car, he asked, "Can I have your digits?"

Leah looked up at Kai startled, completely thrown off guard by the question. Blinking and finding her voice, she said, "What?"

"Your digits. You know, your number, the ten numbers that make up a code for me to call and/or text you," Kai said playfully. He however wasn't expecting the punch in his arm that he got from the girl. "Ow!"

"I know what that means, you idiot!" Leah said, instantly apologizing afterwards. Kai told her it was fine and asked her what provoked her to hit him. Leah sighed and said, "It's nothing."

Kai frowned and said, "It's obviously not nothing, it's clearly something. Did something happen?"

Leah crossed her arms and looked out into the hospital parking lot, contemplating telling the man what had happened. She then remembered she had just met him, causing her to glare at him heatedly. Kai held up his hands in a form of surrender, about to say he was sorry for asking. However Leah cut him off, saying, "It's none of your business what happened. I don't even know you, so what makes you think that I'm going to tell you my life story? I'm just here to make sure that you are alright and you are, so goodbye!"

She yanked her car door open and was about to get in when a strong hand grabbed her elbow, effectively stopping her from getting into the car. Leah whirled her head around to face Kai, about to tell him to fuck off when Kai slammed a hand over her mouth. His grey eyes looked into her brown ones as he calmly said, "Leah, I didn't mean to offend you or anything. I just wanted to know what was wrong. I'm sorry if I overstepped my boundaries. You're right, you don't know me and I don't know you, but I would love to be able to. Can you forgive me and let's start over?"

Kai waited patiently for Leah to answer, watching the conflicting emotions she was feeling cross her face. He smiled when she cautiously nodded and he sighed in relief. He had been afraid he was going to be rebuffed, but was glad that Leah didn't. Smiling he let go of her and held out his hand, saying, "Hi, my name is Kai Whitfield. I'm from the Hoh Reservation and I'm twenty-two years old."

Leah stared at Kai's face for a while before taking his offered hand, shaking it as she said, "Leah Clearwater. I'm from the Quileute Reservation and I'm twenty."

The two of them let go of each other's hands, staring at each other before Leah broke the eye contact. She said goodbye to him and got into her car, shutting the door and cranking the engine. She pulled out of the parking lot and drove towards the exit.

Kai watched her leave, realizing that he still hadn't gotten Leah's number. He kicked the ground in frustration when the sound of a tires screeching reached his ears. Looking up, he saw that Leah had stopped her car at the exit, getting out of it after she put it in park. She was blocking the exit and there were cars that were trying to leave. One car honked at her, causing her to turn to it and he heard her yell, "Fuck you!"

The she-wolf jogged back towards Kai and said, "Give me your phone."

The man nodded and handed it over after unlocking it for her. Leah took it and played with it for a while, handing it back to him before telling him goodbye again and ran back to her car. As she drove away, Kai looked down at the screen of his phone and smiled when he found Leah's name and number programmed in it.

* * *

Charlie walked into his home after a few hours at work, glad to be home. Renee had suddenly shown up at the station and tried to have a yelling match with him about how rude Bella had been to her that morning. He had to get her ejected out of the station and banned from the premises. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to stop her if she showed back up at his house again.

He took off his jacket and hung it on the coat rack when he heard laughter coming from the living room. Walking into the living room, he found Bella and Rosalie talking and laughing while watching The Golden Girls on the television. He smiled and greeted the girls, the two young women returning his greeting.

"Rosalie, right? I never got the chance to say this to you yesterday, but thank you for helping to get Bella out of that wedding," Charlie said, walking over to her and holding out his hand to shake hers. Rosalie smiled and shook his hand, telling him it was no big deal. Charlie shook his head and told her it was before saying, "I can definitely say that you are the one of the family I want Bella associating with. I know I can't completely stop her from spending time with your family if she wants to, but I prefer you and maybe Alice over Edward."

"Why is Alice 'maybe', dad?" Bella asked curoisly.

"Because she supported that horrid wedding, and from what I heard, was the curator of it," Charlie said simply before telling the girls he was going to order and pizza and that Rosalie was welcome to stay for dinner. After he left for the kitchen, Rosalie burst into laughter and sat back down next to Bella. Bella rolled her eyes at her father's blatant honesty and Rosalie's obvious amusement. Though she didn't really like her father saying that about Alice, she also understood why he did. As far as he was concerned, the girl was an active part in helping Bella make the worst mistake of her life.

Bella sighed and asked, "So did Emmett move in with you already?"

Rosalie nodded and answered, "He did, and we christened every room already."

Bella turned red in the face as she giggled, making the blonde next to her grin. They turned back to the television and continued watching the show when Rosalie's cell phone began to ring. Rosalie answered it and listened to whoever was on the other end. Bella watched as Rosalie's face turned from passive to shock to worry before she hung up. Pocketing her phone she said, "I need to go; family meeting."

"I thought you said you were done with them," Bella said in confusion.

"I am, but this is important."

"Rose, what's going on?"

"I promise I will tell you later. Listen, as for right now, stay near Jacob as much as you can."

Rosalie didn't give Bella time to respond as she quickly left. She told Charlie goodbye before leaving the house quickly. Charlie walked back into the living room with a frown asking, "What was that about, Bells?"

Bella frowned as well, a sense of dread washing over her suddenly. Rosalie looked really worried and for some reason, Bella felt it had something to do with the Volturi. Standing Bella said, "Dad, I'm going out for a while. I'll be back soon."

Charlie watched his daughter grab her keys and leave their home, the sound of her truck roaring to life. He heard the truck leave the driveway and make its way down the road, heading towards town. He wondered what could have caused not only Rosalie, but Bella to suddenly leave the way that they did. He had always been suspicious of his daughter's actions ever since she got involved with that boy and his family. Now that she was with Jake, he didn't want her getting involved with that family again. After all, they were supposed to take care of her every time she ended up getting hurt.

With that thought in mind, Charlie Swan put his coat back on and grabbed the keys to his police cruiser before leaving his home, locking the door behind him. He got into his cruiser and buckled up, starting the engine and getting on the road, following Bella to the Cullen home.


	14. Chapter 14

Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 14

Leah lay on her side on her bed, staring at her phone. She wasn't waiting for Kai to send her a text or anything; no, of course not. In fact, she was staring at her phone because…she really didn't have an answer, but it was _not_ because she was waiting for a call or text from Kai. Definitely not…

She sighed as she turned over onto her back and stared at her ceiling. What was she doing? She had just had her heart broken today for the second time, and now she was waiting for a new guy to contact her. Hitting herself in the forehead with the heel of her hand, she gave a small scream before huffing. Leah knew she really shouldn't be pining after Kai, especially just after meeting him, but she couldn't help but feel a connection with him. She couldn't explain it, but she felt somewhat drawn to Kai. And what surprised her more was the dominance he asserted over her without being controlling or overbearing. He did it in a way that not only silenced her and had her listening, but also allowed her to see that he was willing to listen to her and her thoughts. No one had ever done that for her before, not even when she had Sam.

Leah sat up in surprise when her bedroom door suddenly flew open revealing Seth panting in her doorway. Seth was panting heavily as he had run all the way back to his house and he had a look of fear in his eyes. Concerned Leah stood off of her bed and rushed to her little brother, asking him, "Seth, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

Seth took a few deep, quick breaths before saying, "It's the Pack, well really Sam and Jake. They're fighting, sis!"

"That's nothing new, Seth," Leah said with a frown on her face, wondering why her brother would tell her something so trivial.

"No! It's not their regular fights, Leah. Jake is standing up to Sam and is trying to take the position of Alpha!" Seth exclaimed.

Leah's eyes widened in shock before she ran past her brother and down the hall towards the front door. She ran out of the house, Seth not far behind her, already stripping her clothes off of her. Once she was just in her undergarments, she immediately phased and ran into the woods, Seth phasing right after her once he had taken his clothes off as well. The two of them ran as fast as their paws would take them, following the thoughts of the other Pack members.

It didn't take them long before they ran into a clearing where the Pack was all phased and watching Sam and Jacob circling each other, dried blood matting their fur. Leah went and stood next to Quil, who along with Embry were cheering for their friend. She watched the fight between the Alpha and Beta in apprehension. Though this really didn't concern her as an individual, it concerned who would be fit to lead the Pack. She just hoped that it didn't end with death.

* * *

Sam growled as he and Jacob circled each other. He had been surprised when Jacob had shown up at his house and told him he was taking his rightful place as Alpha. He had told him 'no', but when he realized that the rightful Alpha was serious, he told him that he would have to fight him for it. Apparently Jacob had no qualms with that, as he phased on the spot. Emily had tried to stop her mate, but Sam had pushed her aside and ran out of the house, leaping in the air and phasing mid-leap, landing in front of Jacob. He had swung at Jacob, but had missed and chased his Beta through the woods, all the way to the clearing where they had been fighting for the past ten minutes.

Jacob gave a snarl before lunging at Sam, clawing him in his snout before clamping his teeth into Sam's neck. Sam let out a roar and jerked his body to the right, dislodging Jacob enough to jump on his back and bite his ear. Jacob gave a yelp and felt blood run down the side of this head. Sam let go of Jacob's ear and scratched as his head, more specifically his eye. If he could blind Jacob, then Jacob would have to surrender as he wouldn't be able to fight him. However the russet wolf was anticipating this and slipped his large body forward, making the black wolf fly off of him and land on his shoulder.

The sound of bones crunching was heard all throughout the clearing, making the other members of the Pack cringe from the sound. Jacob wasted no time and rushed towards Sam, stomping right on the broken shoulder and sinking his teeth into his neck again, biting down harder than the first time and not relenting, even when Sam whimpered and whined and in pain. Sam's struggling had stopped and the amount of pain that Jacob was giving him almost had him passing out, but decided to give one more good fight in him.

Using his hind leg he kicked it forward, connecting with Jacob's side, the force behind it breaking three ribs. Jacob let out a yelp, letting go of Sam's neck in the process. Though his shoulder was still broken and the bones hadn't attempted to reset themselves yet, the current Alpha stood up and lunged at the Beta and knocked into him, sending him flying back a few feet. Sam gritted his teeth against the pain coming from his shoulder and ran at Jacob, swiping at his head again, his claws scratching him in his face, barely missing his eye.

Jacob growled and bared his teeth at Sam before unleashing his fury on him. He scratched, bit, clawed, everything he could think to do to physically harm Sam more than he already had. By the time he stopped Sam was lying beaten but still breathing and growling at him.

 _"_ _Admit defeat, Sam. You can't beat me. Just hand over the position of Alpha,"_ Jacob told him, standing across from him.

Sam growled at him in defiance, saying, _"Why should I? I told you that once you turned it down, you wouldn't ever have it back."_

 _"_ _I know that, but it is my rightful place, not yours. Now either step down willingly, or I will kill you."_

 _"_ _You think that now that you've Imprinted and have grown into your own that you now have what it takes to carry the responsibility of being Alpha takes. I'm sorry to say this, but you are not ready, and never will be. This position will never be yours."_

Jacob lowered his body and snarled before running towards Sam, intent on finishing him off. He didn't want to resort to this, but he needed to show Sam and the rest of the Pack who the Alpha male was. However before he could lay another paw on the black wolf, a furry grey blur ran in front of him and crouched in a protective stance in front of Sam. Jacob stopped seeing that it was Leah, surprised that she was protecting her ex from him. Sam was also surprised that Leah was protecting him from Jacob's attempt at mauling him. Leah stared at Jacob intently, carefully watching for any more signs of attack, the Pack watching the scene in front of them in interest.

 _"_ _Jake, that's enough,"_ Leah told him.

Jacob let out a low rumble, stomping his paw on the ground while saying, _"Move Leah."_

 _"_ _No, I won't. Stop trying to kill Sam. You've done enough, now stop it."_

 _"_ _He won't relinquish the position of Alpha willingly, so I will take it by force, even if it means killing the current Alpha."_

 _"_ _Jake please, just stop. I won't ask again."_

Jacob hesistated as he looked into Leah's mind, wondering why she was standing up to him for Sam. He saw that while Leah was still hurt because of Sam, she didn't want him dead. One reason was that it would greatly upset Emily. Another was that despite all of the emotional shit he had put her through, Leah still cared for Sam. And also if he still refused to back down, she would fight him herself.

After a moment of contemplating, Jacob took a step back and said, _"Fine, I won't kill him. But as of right now, I am the Alpha male. I am the leader of this Pack, as it is my birthright. And should one of you ever try and take it from me, I will not hesitate to kill you on the spot. Is that clear?"_

The Pack all gave noises of confirmation having felt the change in leadership from Sam to Jacob. They figured that maybe it was the gods praising Jacob for finally coming into his birthright and readily granting him the power and leadership to be Alpha. Jacob felt it too and dismissed the Pack before turning back to Leah and Sam.

 _"_ _Leah, help Sam and help him home. And Leah, you are my Beta now,"_ Jacob said before turning and walking into the woods to head back home for more clothes.

* * *

Leah watched Jacob walk away before turning her attention back to Sam. He was still lying on the ground, his bones probably healed, though it couldn't be told if they were back in place or not. Leah let out a noise that could have been an equivalent to a sigh and nudged Sam's head a bit with her own before nudging his side, telling him to get up. Sam carefully stood up, whimpering when he put pressure on his front leg as his shoulder still hurt really badly. When he got his bearings, he and Leah made the trek back to his house, Leah letting him use her body to lean on occasionally while they were on their journey. After ten minutes of walking, Sam finally asked, _"Why? Why did you protect me, and why are you helping me home?"_

 _"_ _Because no matter how big of an asshole you are, I still care about you and don't want to see you dead,"_ Leah answered, not looking at the black wolf. _"Besides, I don't want to be the one comforting Emily when they bring back your dead body."_

Sam chuckled at Leah's honest answer, glad that even under all of the resentment and hatred she held for him, the same Lee-Lee he had once been in love with was still there.

* * *

Bella put her truck in park and rushed towards the front door of the Cullen house. Before she could knock, the door opened to reveal Esme. Esme told her hello, though she didn't smile. The reason being was because she had a concerned look on her face. As she looked around, Bella noticed the whole Cullen coven (minus Edward) did, making her feel uneasy.

"What's going on?" she asked them, feeling anxious. Jasper, who could feel the emotions of the human girl, said, "Alice had a vision."

Rosalie nodded and said, "It's the Volturi; they're on their way here."

Bella felt her legs buckle beneath her and she collapsed on the floor, finding it suddenly hard to breath. The Volturi were coming. The _Volturi_ were coming! She hadn't seen them since the newborn battle, and even then it was only Jane, Alec, Felix, and Demetri. Bella almost asked why they were coming, but the answer to that question quickly followed the thought. It was because of the wedding! She never went through with marrying Edward as it had been promised and now they were coming to kill her or change her themselves.

Her breathing suddenly became frantic and her hands grabbed her hair, tugging on it as she suddenly began to laugh hysterically. Rosalie rushed to Bella's side, wrapping her arms around her as it was apparent that the girl was having a nervous breakdown. Rubbing her back soothingly, she said, "Calm down Bella, calm down. We'll figure this out. Besides, the Volturi won't be here for a few days, right Alice?"

Alice nodded and said, "Yes, they won't be here for another two days. However, Edward will be meeting with them in a day, and he tells them about the wolves."

Bella began to cry when she heard this. Edward was going to tell the Volturi, who don't stand for werewolves, about Jacob and the Pack. Was he trying to get them all killed?

"Ugh, that vampire douche! It's bad enough that we're stuck in damnation as vampires and being watched by vampire royalty. And now they're going to know about the Quilete wolf shifters? Great job, Carlisle. You're golden boy has put a _huge_ price on our heads and the Volturi are going to rampage Forks," Rosalie said with an angry scowl on her face.

"Vampires? Wolf shifters?" a new voice suddenly said from the doorway. Everyone turned and was shocked to see Chief Charlie Swan standing in the doorway, a look of anger and disbelief on his face. "You mean to tell me that you all are vampires and have put my only child in danger on a daily basis to please that sorry excuse of a boy?"

Carlisle held up his hands and took a step towards the human man, saying, "It wasn't like that, Charlie."

"Shut up!" Charlie yelled at him.

Bella quickly stood back up and said, "Dad, I can explain-

"You be quiet too, Bella. You are coming home right now, and you better explain everything to me the minute your ass is inside the house," Charlie said cutting her off. Grabbing his daughter's arm, he dragged her out of the house and towards the police cruiser. Bella didn't try to fight her father, knowing that she would make him madder than he already was. Just as they reached the cruiser, Emmett appeared next to her and took the keys to her truck from her, telling her he'd take it back to their house later. He also told her that he and Rosalie would tell her the details of Alice's vision and what would happen later.

Charlie demanded that the burly vampire back away from his car and daughter before telling Bella to get inside. Once the two of them were inside of the police cruiser, Charlie took off down the driveway and hit the main road, turning on his police lights as he rushed back to his house. Bella knew he was doing this so he could get heated without his rage affecting his driving. She knew she had a lot to explain once they got home and was bracing herself for it.

When they did finally arrive, Bella was surprised to see Jacob waiting on the front porch. Before she could tell him that Charlie found out about the Cullen's being vampires and somewhat about the Pack, Charlie said, "Boy, get inside. You and Bella have a lot of explaining to do. And I want to know _everything._ "


	15. Chapter 15

Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 15

"And that ultimately led to me finally agreeing to marry Edward," Bella said wiping the tears from her face, though they kept falling. After all this time, she finally told her father everything that had happened to her concerning Edward and the Cullens since moving to Forks. Her tears kept flowing because she felt a huge weight come off of her shoulders that had been weighing her down from not being able to tell Charlie what was really going on in her life. Sniffing she said, "And I'm sorry, dad. I wish I could have told you. I must have made you feel like such a bad father, and I know I was a horrible daughter more times than not, but-

"No, no, kiddo. You've been wonderful, and I should have been there for you more. I should have been more active in your life when you came here, but I believed that I would be stifling you. You're a young woman and coming into your own now, and I didn't want to take away from that," Charlie said through the lump in his throat. God, the guilt he was feeling was worse than he thought he could imagine concerning his own flesh and blood. He had guilt at feeling like a worthless father to Bella, and anger/borderline hatred for the Cullen family. Well, at least not towards Rosalie, her mate Emmett, and the one called Jasper (whichever one that was). He felt a bit of resentment towards the wife, as he believed her charming nature was used against him to help talk him into allowing Bella to marry Edward. When they had broke the news to him and he had refused, it was Esme to talk him into allowing the wedding to go on. God, was he really that stupid or gullible to fall for that?

Shaking his head, he stood from his armchair and walked over to where Bella and Jacob sat, reaching out and gently tugging his daughter into standing. Once she was he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her as tightly as he could, afraid that she would slip away from him, especially considering all of the near death and life threatening experiences she had gone through. Char lie also wanted to convey that no matter what happened, he would always love her and that he had forgiven her for deceiving him ever since she met and got involved with those vampires.

Bella seemed to understand the hug her father initiated, and thus she began sobbing. Her sobs shook her body and she held onto Charlie like a lifeline, taking in the strength and love that only a father could give in their child's time of need. She hated herself for what she put her dad through, but knowing that he was going to look past it and just focus on her and what the future held for them made her love her father all the more.

Jacob sat and watched the exchange with a smile on his face. This moment was private for them and he wasn't going to interrupt it. So many times he had heard Charlie tell Billy how he wanted to be closer to Bella but couldn't seem to for some reason, and now it was finally happening. Bella spilling her heart out for her father and revealing everything that had caused her to push him away not only mended their relationship, but brought them closer than they probably ever were. It was a bit of a shame Bella's mom wasn't as cooperative.

When the two Swans had finally gotten their emotions together, Charlie smiled and kissed the top of Bella's head before looking over at Jacob. He had heard Bella's side of the story concerning vampires, but he knew that the boy that was like a son to him had the answers concerning Rosalie's statement about wolf shifters. Letting go of Bella and allowing her to sit back down, Charlie sat in his armchair and said, "Alright Jake, tell me about these wolf shifters I heard Rosalie talk about."

Jacob nodded and cleared his throat before saying, "Well as you know from our bonfire stories, the Quileutes are said to be descendents to wolf warriors. It was believed that the wolf was the great protector of our land and its people. And if you also remember the Elder's stories, it was believed that the gods picked certain warriors to be protectors of the tribe and the lands, and those warriors were given the power of transformation to turn into a wolf at will to be able to protect their loved ones. It all sounds like myth and has been believed to be, but I know better than anyone that the legends are true. The reason the warriors were able to turn into wolves was to be able to fight and kill the Cold Ones, otherwise known as vampires.

My great-grandfather Ephraim Black was a wolf shifter and the leader of his Pack. He met the Cullens years ago and formed a treaty with them, stating that they could not cross over the line onto our lands, kill humans, or turn any humans. The vampire doctor agreed to it and that treaty has been kept for the most part. The Cullens left years ago and we hadn't had any more wolf shifters in the tribe, though we had the gene lying dormant until recently."

"What do you mean recently? Is it because of that family's return?" Charlie asked, confused and intrigued with Jacob's tale.

"Well yes, but also because a bunch of vampires were showing up all over Forks. I guess the gods believed that it was time they revive the Pack. When I changed I was named Beta because even thought being the Alpha is in my blood, I didn't think I was ready to have the responsibility to lead and handle the other wolves; well, until recently that is," Jacob finished with a cheeky grin.

Bella's eyes widened and she asked, "You mean you're the Alpha now?"

Jacob nodded and said, "Yep. I fought Sam and won so I could come into my birthright and take my place as the rightful Alpha of the Quileute Pack."

Bella stared at her boyfriend for a minute before grinning widely and letting out a laugh before instantly hugging him. Jacob was laughing as well, glad that his mate was taking the news well. However, he knew that once the excitement wore off it would be replaced with worry.

After Bella was done congratulating him, Jacob turned back to Charlie and said, "As I was saying, the wolf gene was reactivated because of all the vampires that have been around. We are protectors of our land, our people, and our Imprints."

"Imprints? What are those?" Charlie asked.

This time Bella answered, saying, "An Imprint is the chosen partner or mate for the wolf shifter. The Imprinter, being the Shifter, supposedly locks eyes with the Imprintee, the one who is the chosen mate for them, and it's like that person is the only thing keeping the Shifter grounded. Basically they are made for each other and no matter how you try to fight it, you will end up with the Imprint."

"Yeah, you see Imprinting is what Bells has said, but it's also to be able to carry on the wolf gene in the next generation and on. And the Imprinter as Bella called them, will be anything the Imprintee wants them to be, whether that is a friend, a brother, or a lover," Jacob finished.

Charlie nodded thoughtfully before asking, "And the Imprint can be just anybody?"

"Seemingly yes, but they were chosen by the gods specifically for that person."

"And have you Imprinted already?"

Jacob nodded, flinching when he saw rage pass through the man's brown eyes. Shaking his head he hurriedly said, "I didn't Imprint on some random girl, Charlie. I Imprinted on Bella; she's my intended."

The two teenagers stared at the chief of police as he stared at them, holding their breaths while trying to gage his expression. They breathed a sigh of relief with Charlie finally smiled, a look of pride on his face.

"You are the Alpha and you've Imprinted on my daughter. That means I know that I can trust you to take care of her, not that I had any doubt," Charlie said while standing and walking over to them. He held his hand out to shake Jacob's saying, "You've turned into a fine young man, Jake."

Jacob shook Charlie's hand with an embarrassed flush on his face. Bella let out a giggle before sighing and saying, "I guess that means that we need to tell Billy."

"Yeah, and the other Elders, too," Jacob said when he let go of Charlie's hand.

Charlie shook his head and said, "Don't worry about it, you two. I'm on my way to talk to Billy about everything I know right now. But whatever else is going on with those Vultures, Voltrons….those royal vampires from Italy, I hope everything works out. After all, you have two days to figure it out. I'll see you kids later, and thanks for sharing with me."

Bella watched her dad grab his keys and leave the house, on his way to the Reservation to talk to Billy about everything he just learned. As soon as she heard the cruiser leave the driveway, she let out a breath of relief and laid her head over on Jacob's shoulder. She was emotionally exhausted and her eyes felt super heavy from all of her crying. Before she knew it, Bella was being picked up and carried up the stairs to her bedroom. Bella was just on the brink of consciousness, her exhaustion telling her to go to sleep. Plus it was dark out so she definitely needed to sleep. Just as soon as Jacob laid her on her bed, she was fast asleep.

* * *

Jacob smiled and took her shoes off before tucking her underneath her covers and pulling them up to her shoulder. He gave her a kiss on her forehead before silently creeping out of her room and back downstairs. When he reached the landing, a knock on the door grabbed his attention. Jacob would have been cautious because it smelled like vampire, but he recognized the scents as Blondie and the beefy one.

Opening the door he saw them standing on the porch waiting to be invited inside. He did so and led them into the kitchen since he was hungry and wanted something to eat. Jacob could cook, but he figured making a sandwich (or five) would do. As he started looking for ingredients, he said, "Bella mentioned that those vampire lords are coming. Can you give me the run down as to why and what's going to happen? I know that Pixie has seen it."

Rosalie nodded and said, "Well, the Volturi are going to be here in two days, giving us almost little to no time to prepare in the event a fight ensues."

"I'm always down for a fight, so I'm not worried," Emmett said, ignoring the slight scowl he got from his mate.

Jacob nodded as he put his sandwiches together and asked, "And what do they want?"

"Let me start a little back first. So as you know, Bella was supposed to marry the dick wad I call a brother. Not because she wanted to, but because the Volturi didn't give her much choice," Rosalie started.

"They told her to marry that creep?" Jacob asked incredulously.

Emmett shook his head and said, "No, they said that since she knows our secret, her ultimatum was to either be changed or killed; whichever came first. Edward didn't want to do either, but Bella was adamant about becoming a vampire and joining our family."

Rosalie flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and said, "But we didn't know that her heart wasn't really in her declaration, and I don't think she even realized it either. Edward refused to change Bella unless she married him, as he wanted them to be a proper couple or some shit like that. Bella figured that if she gave him this, he would give her that, therefore she accepted his proposal. Carlisle let Aro, the leader or king of the Volturi, know about the wedding with the promise that Bella would be changed during or after the honeymoon. Aro said that as long as Bella went through with the wedding, all would be well. If not, they were coming to deal with it themselves."

"Which brings us to where we are now," Emmett said.

Jacob sat silent for a while swallowing the last bite of his fourth sandwich before asking, "Anything else?"

The two vampires looked at each other for a second before Rosalie said, "Edward is coming with them, and tomorrow his is going to tell them about you and the other wolves."

"Is that bad?" Jacob asked suddenly worried.

"Yeah, it is. Marcus, one of the three to lead the Volturi, hates werewolves and has driven them to extinction. He thinks there are no more and once Edward tells him about you and the Pack, he is going to want to kill all of you," Emmett answered, a grave look on his face.

This was bad, this was _very_ bad. It was one thing for the leeches to come because of the suddenly cancelled wedding, but to also arrive with the intent to kill Jacob, the Pack, and maybe even the tribe was too much. What was that fucking bloodsucker thinking?! Jacob was seething and was trying to rein his wolf in so he could continue to talk calmly without losing it. Taking deep breaths he said, "Maybe if we can prove that we aren't regular werewolves they will let us go."

Rosalie shook her head and said, "Don't count on it; they always have an ulterior motive."

Emmett shrugged and said, "It wouldn't hurt to have them there though, Rosie. You know, for precautionary measures or something."

"That's not such a bad idea. Okay, let's do it. Give me your number so I can contact you tomorrow. Jasper is having another training session tomorrow just in case," Rosalie said to Jacob.

Jacob nodded and took Blondie's phone when she handed it to him, programming his number and calling his own just to make sure he had hers. Once that was done he told them that he was going back to the Reservation to speak with his Pack.

"One of you doesn't mind staying here with Bells, do you? I don't want her to wake up here alone in case me or Charlie haven't come back yet," Jacob said. The couple shook their heads, declaring they would stay until either he or Charlie came back. Jacob thanked them and left the house, hurrying to the woods to strip out of his clothes and tie them to the strap on his leg. As he shifted he couldn't help but think, _"Man, the Pack isn't going to like this. But one thing is for sure: that good for nothing bloodsucker is going to get what is coming to him."_

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hi, guys! Thanks so much for reading. Now I may have gotten my lines crossed concerning the Quileute legends, so forgive me if they are wrong (but I think I got the gist of it, maybe).**


	16. Chapter 16

Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 16

Bella sat up in bed gasping for breath as she quickly woke up from her dream. Panting she looked around her room and realized that it was rather bright for it to be night time. Looking at her clock she realized it was bright because it was ten in the morning. Throwing back the sheets she headed towards the bathroom to take a shower.

While the water of the shower cascaded over her, she thought about everything that she had learned less than twenty-four hours ago. The Volturi were coming, Edward was going to tip them off about the Quileute shifters today, and there could possibly be a bloodbath because of her and her decisions that affect everyone around her. Why couldn't she have just ignored her stubbornness and curiosity when it came to Edward and the Cullens? Just her finding out what he was, that she was his Singer, and him not having the will to kill her led her to believe that they could be happy as a vampire human couple. Instead it just set off a chain of events that could have been avoided had she not let herself be dazzled and walk right into their world. Well, it was all in the past now and she needed to focus on the future, i.e. tomorrow.

Shutting the water off, Bella stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel. She towel dried her hair before wrapping the towel around her naked body. Once the towel was securely wrapped around her, she twisted the doorknob and opened the bathroom door, letting out a surprised yelp when she saw who was standing on the other side.

"Leah!" Bella exclaimed, backing a bit back into the bathroom. She really wasn't expecting Leah of all people to be here waiting for her. The last time she had seen her the she wolf had caught her and Jacob kissing on First Beach yesterday. Bella had been so sure that Leah was going to come and choke her out later, but she never showed up.

"Bella," Leah said curtly. She really didn't want to be here, far from it as she still held nothing but hate for the girl, but Jacob had asked her to pick up the pale face and escort her to where the leeches and Pack were going to training. "Hurry up and get dressed; we're going to the training session. You know, the one that is being called for because of your pitiful ass."

Bella flushed and ran past Leah into her bedroom, closing and locking the door behind her. Honestly, what was it with people catching her out of the shower? Still Leah's words rang in her head. The training the wolves and vampires would be doing together wouldn't even be happening had she just married Edward like she was supposed to. But her heart belonged to Jacob and she knew she made the right decision leaving Edward and going to Jacob. She knew that she still wasn't well liked by some of the Pack (Leah, Paul, and Jared) but she also knew she would gain a whole lot of respect from them for being the Alpha's Imprint. With that knowledge in mind, Bella dressed and stepped outside her room when she finished. Head held high she looked up at Leah square in her eyes and said, "You need to show me respect, Leah. I am the Jake's, the _Alpha's_ Imprint after all, so I have some sort of authority over you. Now how about instead of being impatient with me, you hold your tongue and let's get a move on?"

Leah's eyes narrowed quickly and the next thing Bella knew, she had been grabbed by her hair and jerked forward, her head being forced upward as she tried to keep herself upright. She gasped in pain, shocked at the sudden movement and scared by the harsh look and fury in Leah's brown eyes. Leah leant in towards Bella's face and said in a low, menacing voice, "It's a few years to early for you to think you can tell me what to do. Now get your scrawny ass downstairs and outside so we can go, _now_."

As soon as she was let go, Bella hurried down the stairs and out the backdoor. Okay, maybe it wasn't a good idea to try and assert some female dominance over Leah just yet. Maybe when she grew into the role as an Alpha's Imprint everything would fall into place gradually. But as of right now, she valued her life and didn't want to test anymore of the she wolf's patience.

The two of them walked into the woods behind the house and Bella waited for Leah to phase before climbing on her back and holding on as the grey wolf ran quickly through the woods. It wasn't long before the two of them came upon the grounds where the Pack and Cullens had trained to fight the newborn army. Jacob smiled as he saw Leah approach with Bella and gently got his girlfriend off of his Beta's back. Giving her a kiss he said, "It's good to see that Leah got you here in one piece. She didn't give you a hard time, did she?"

"Uh, not really," Bella lied, knowing good and well her boyfriend didn't believe her. Jacob frowned and glared at Leah who growled in response, basically telling him to not mess with her at the moment. Jacob ignored Paul's wolfish laugh and turned to the Cullen coven that were waiting patiently.

Jasper nodded and said, "Thank you all for joining us once again. As you all know, the Volturi is coming and Edward has betrayed us and the Quileute Pack by telling Aro, Marcus, and Caius about the supposed werewolves. Alice's visions of what will tomorrow are unclear because the Shifters will be here, but in case of a fight, we need to be ready. That is why we have called another training session. Carlisle has asked me to be the curator once again, and Esme has packed four cooler full of food and drinks for the Shifters. We will have a few breaks, but it is best that we spend this whole day training and maybe even a little into the evening."

Jacob nodded and asked, "Is there anything absolute about Pixie's visions?"

Alice nodded and said, "The Volturi will be arriving at our house at exactly eleven AM sharp."

The young Alpha gave Alice a nod and turned to his Pack, asking them if they were ready. When they all gave their own confirmation, Jacob let Jasper take over. Jacob had opted to sit the training out for a few hours to give Bella some comfort, as she may begin to feel anxious as she watches the practice fights. He heard Jasper say that he would start the practice fights with vampire verses wolf first, wolf on the defensive and vampire on the offensive. The empath pointed to a brown wolf with dark grey around the eyes, which Jacob identified as Jared, and paired him up with Esme to fight.

While those two sparred, Bella looked around and noticed that a certain black wolf was missing. Turning to her boyfriend she asked, "Hey Jake, where's Sam?"

"He's still….recovering from losing his Alpha position yesterday," Jacob answered. "I had Leah help him home to Emily after I appointed her Beta."

"Leah's Beta?" Bella asked in surprise. She honestly had to wonder why Jacob would do that. To her, Leah just didn't seem like the right person to be Beta of the Pack; she let her emotions get the best of her and she easily flipped.

Jacob sat down on the ground and pulled Bella into his lap, holding her close. He looked into her chocolate eyes and said, "I made her my Beta because even though she might be a bit rash at times, she is actually very reasonable and logical in critical situations. When I was fighting Sam yesterday, I told him that if he didn't step down willingly I would kill him."

"Jake!" Bella exclaimed.

"I know, I know, but let me finish," Jacob said, calming his girlfriend down. "When I decided I would give a final blow, Leah stepped in front of me to protect Sam. She basically helped me to realize that I may have been going a bit too far in order to force Same to hand over the position of Alpha to me; she even threatened to fight me if I didn't. Because of her doing that, I realized that she can put her personal feelings aside and assess a situation clearly and carefully before making a decision. That's why I appointed her Beta and I trust her to take over for me when I can't attend anything that has to do with the Pack."

Bella was amazed that Jacob saw that kind of quality in Leah. From what she had seen, she was just mean, bitter, and had her heart broken too many times. But maybe she was more underneath the surface; she just hadn't seen it because Leah doesn't trust or like her. Deciding to take Jacob's word for it, she nodded and turned back to watch the session, Jared trading places with Paul and Esme with Emmett.

* * *

Leah sat quietly and watched Paul and the beefy vampire battle it out. She honestly was a little bored and wanted to be somewhere else. Maybe at home helping her mom cook or at the antique shop on the Res helping Mrs. Chopin place antiques on the shelves the little lady couldn't reach. Or maybe….

Shaking her head, Leah immediately tried to keep a certain long haired, grey eyed man out of her head. But even so, she wondered what he was doing or even if he was thinking about her. She began to wonder if she was sounding desperate. Before she could think of anymore, she felt her phone in her pants on her strap vibrate against her hind leg. Excusing herself she walked away into the woods to phase back into her human form and answer it.

"Hello?" Leah answered.

 _"_ _Hey Leah, it's Kai,"_ Kai's voice floated easily through the phone.

"Oh, hey! How's it going?" Leah replied, unable to keep the small smile from her face at hearing his voice.

 _"_ _Pretty good, but I had a question for you."_

"Shoot."

 _"_ _Would you like to come to my place today?"_

Leah's eyes widened at the question. Had Kai just invited her to his home on the Hoh Reservation? She asked him to repeat the question just to make sure she had heard right; she had.

 _"_ _So, what do you say?"_ Kai asked, his voice sounding very hopeful.

"Sure, I'd love to," Leah answered.

 _"_ _Great! Text me your address and I'll come and pick you up."_

"Okay, I'll see you soon."

 _"_ _Okay, see you."_

Leah hung up and smiled while biting her lip. She was going to go to Kai's place. Getting dressed she ran over to Jacob and told him that she was leaving. When he asked her why, she said that she was meeting up with a friend, but promised to make up for her missed training session later on that night. When Jacob gave his consent for her to leave, she thanked him and took the keys to his Rabbit, telling him she'd leave the keys with her mom, and took off in his car seconds later to head home. She made it back to the Reservation quicker than she expected and hurriedly parked in front of her house.

Running inside, Leah gave Sue Jacob's car keys and told her that he'd be over to get them later before running straight for the bathroom. She immediately jumped in the shower, washing her hair and body in a timely manner and rinsed the suds down the drain before stepping out and towel drying her hair. The water droplets on her body had already evaporated, so she wrapped the towel around her body and quickly left the bathroom for her room. Leah put on clean underwear and bra before fumbling through her drawers for something nice to wear. By nice, she meant something presentable. Grabbing a pair of light blue skinny jeans, she put them on, zipping and buttoning them before looking for a shirt. She found a pale yellow cami and put it on, looking for some sort of over shirt to wear over it. As she looked, Sue stepped into her room, watching her daughter frantically look through her clothes.

"Sweetheart, what's the matter? Why are you running around like a lost dog?" Sue asked her daughter.

Leah stopped moving and turned to look at her mother, a dark blue button up in her hand. She looked down at the shirt, then looked back up at her mother before saying, "I'm uh, going to a friend's place."

Sue gave Leah a surprised look, then asked, "Is it a boy?"

When Leah nodded, Sue gave an exasperated sigh and said, "Leah honey, I think you need to take a break from boys. You just end up getting hurt. First it was Sam and then he Imprinted on Emily. Next it was Jacob and he Imprinted on Bella. Now this strange boy who I'm not familiar with is taking you to his home. He's probably just trying to seduce you into pleasing him. Leah, you need to stop and think this decision through."

"Okay one, you act like I'm still a virgin. I lost it to Sam, remember? You walked in on us after it was over. And B, you don't even know Kai. I don't know him well either, but from what I have seen, he is a genuinely nice guy and, and I think he likes me," Leah said, finishing with a slight blush.

"Okay, he likes you and you are apparently into him as well, but I just don't want to see you hurt again," Sue said as she watched her daughter put on the button up and search for a pair of socks.

"Well with the way we met, I probably hurt him."

"What do you mean?"

"I hit him with my car."

"What?!"

"He's fine, mom. In fact, he was walking around and flirting with me like it wasn't a big deal."

"Where is he from?"

"The Hoh Reservation. And if it helps you feel better, he's on his way here to pick me up, so you can meet him then."

Sue looked like she wanted to say more, but decided not to and left Leah's room. Leah sighed as she put on her socks and stuck her feet in her combat boots. She went back to the bathroom and combed her hair, just finishing when there was a knock on the door. She heard her mom answer the door, giving her time to run back to her room and grab her phone and put it in her pocket before walking down the hallway to the living room.

Entering the living room, she saw Kai standing there looking around before his grey eyes settled on her. He smiled at the sight of her, making her blush a little before she cleared her throat and said, "Mom, this is Kai Whitfield. Kai, this is my mom, Sue Clearwater."

Kai held out his hand for Sue to shake, saying, "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Clearwater. I must say, Leah definitely gets her looks from you."

Sue's eyebrows rose before she gave Kai a small smile and shook his hand, telling him to have her back by midnight. Embarrassed, Leah told Sue that she was twenty and didn't need a curfew anymore, but her mom insisted on midnight. Kai promised to have her back by then and he and Leah left her house, getting into his blue Chevy and driving away.

"I'm really sorry about my mom. She's been really protective of me and my brother after our dad passed," Leah said.

"It's no problem, really. I think she was just suspicious of me, since I don't live on your land and all," Kai replied easily.

Leah gave a small chuckle and asked Kai what he had planned besides showing her his place. He smiled and told her that she would just have to wait and see. The she wolf just rolled her eyes and shook her head, making the man in the driver's seat laugh. The two of them talked all the way to the Hoh Reservation, mostly about their likes and dislikes. When Kai passed over into the boundaries of his Reservation, he suddenly asked, "Leah, do you like bears?"

"What?" Leah asked confused.

Kai let out a small chuckle and repeated, "Do you like bears?"

"I don't know, why?" Leah asked.

"Just wondering," Kai replied, his tone indicating that maybe there was more to his question that what he had asked Leah. Leah didn't want to think anything suspicious of Kai just yet. After all, she had never felt so comfortable around a guy than she did when she was with Kai. But she didn't want their friendship to be suspicious, though it was obvious Kai wanted more than friendship with her.

In all honesty, Leah would be okay with dating Kai, but she wasn't sure if she was willing to open her heart up to that possibility again. Ten minutes later, Kai pulled up to and parked in front of a forest green house with red shutters and roof. Leah got out of the car and noticed an array of rose bushes lining both sides of the front of the home. Kai noticed her looking at the bushes and said, "My mom loves to do gardening and keeps the flowerbeds looking nice all the time."

Leah smiled and told him that the roses were beautiful, making him smile before he gently grabbed her hand and led her inside of his home. Leah tried to ignore the spark and shudder that ran through her from Kai's hand touching hers, but the storm of questions asking 'why' in her head came.

"Mom! Dad! I'm back, and I brought Leah!" Kai called as they entered his house. As soon as he finished calling out, a short brown haired woman came out of the kitchen and smiled sweetly at Leah , saying, "Why, hello dear. You must be the precious Leah Kai has told us about. My, you are as pretty as he said you were."

Leah blushed at the statement, hearing Kai groan in embarrassment next to her. She lifted her hand to rub the back of her neck, only to realize that Kai was still holding it. She shook their hands a bit before the man finally let it go, a blush on his face as well.

Turning back to Kai's mother, she said, "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Whitfield."

"Oh please, call me Julie. I would have Owen introduce himself as well, but he got called into work some time after Kai left to go get you," Julie said.

"Dad works too much," Kai said.

"Well, he helps to pay the bills, so it's alright," Julie replied before telling Leah to make herself at home. When Julie walked back into the kitchen, Kai lead Leah to his room where they sat on his bed in what should have been an awkward silence, but instead was rather comfortable. Leah wasn't sure what to say, but she really wanted to say something. But what would she tell Kai? There were so many things she could tell him about herself, but was afraid to open up that much, especially considering she just met him yesterday, but it just felt right being with him. It was like there was some sort of connection between them that was more than attraction, but she couldn't place what it could be. Was something wrong with her for feeling like she was moving too fast?

Suddenly Kai's voice called her out of her thoughts, causing her to look at him. Brown eyes met grey and the two of them sat and stared at each other. The next thing Leah knew, her chin was being held between a strong finger and thumb, and soft lips were pressing against hers.


	17. Chapter 17

Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 17

Leah's brown eyes widened considerably from feeling Kai's lips against her own. Was he…was he _kissing her?!_ Overcome with shock Leah wrenched her head away from Kai's, scooting back from him a little with a hand over her mouth.

"Wh-What the hell?" Leah couldn't help but ask.

Kai looked confused for a minute before asking, "Did you not want me to do that?"

The she wolf looked at the man like he had grown another head. Did he seriously think that was the problem? They had only really just met and he was already kissing her! Sure, she found him attractive and all, but seriously!

Seeing the internal fight in Leah's eyes, Kai reached out to take her hand only to have it yanked away from him. Realizing his mistake, he once again reached out and gently grabbed Leah's wrist before she take it away from him again.

"Leah," Kai started, but was surprised when Leah grabbed his hand and crushed it in her grip. He hissed when he felt his pinky finger crack beneath her grip, causing him to let her go. However, that gave the Quileute girl enough time to stand and walk out of his bedroom and down the hall, headed for the front door.

Kai went after her, following her outside only to see her break off into a run heading for the nearest wooded area. He took off after her, keeping up with her long strides as she ducked and weaved through the woods. He realized she was trying to not only get away from him, but try and make it back to her house on foot. Kai didn't want Leah to leave just yet, at least not without him giving an explanation as to why he kissed her. Determined to stop Leah, Kai sped up his pace and quickly closed in on the girl. He was surprised at how fast she was running, though it appeared that she hadn't broken into a sweat or was out of breath yet.

A minute later Kai reached out and caught Leah by her arm, effectively halting her in her attempt to run away from him. He however didn't expect her to turn around and attempt to slap him in his face. Kai struggled to keep her from beating the crap out of him and finally decided to just pin her down. Slipping a foot through Leah's legs, he hooked it behind her left ankle and pulled, causing her to fall on the forest floor on her back with a grunt. Moving quickly he sat on her waist and pinned both of her arms above her head. Kai waited until Leah stopped struggling and cursing at him, her brown eyes looking up at him with a mix of irritation and fear. Not the same fear of being afraid of something or someone, but the kind of fear that can be associated with being afraid of getting close to someone or feeling an emotion that one doesn't want to feel.

The man looked down at her and asked, "Are you finished now so I can talk?" When Leah gave a nod, Kai let her hands go and moved off of her to sit next to her. Leah sat up and looked at him, asking, "Why did you kiss me?"

"Leah, what would you say if I told you that you are the one for me?" Kai asked her in return. Leah frowned in confusion, prompting Kai to add, "What if I told you that you were my intended?"

Leah's confused face instantly turned sour as she said, "Don't do that. Don't fuck with me, Kai. I don't need that bullshit right now."

Kai grabbed the girl's hands, glad she didn't pull away from him this time. Holding them tightly, he said, "I'm not kidding, Leah. I don't know if you ever heard of Imprinting, but I did that to you when you hit me with your car yesterday. Well, not exactly at that moment, but definitely when you got out to check on me."

"No," Leah said weakly, not wanting to hear anymore about Imprinting. Suddenly realizing what Kai said, she said, "Wait a minute. How do you know about Imprinting and all that other bull that goes with it?"

Grey eyes regarded her closely before Kai stood up, pulling Leah with him. He told her to stay put before going behind the nearest tree where he appeared not long after as naked as the day he was born. Leah's eyes widened and her cheeks turned red, causing her to look away from the man. She's seen a lot of penises ever since becoming a Shifter, but Kai took the cake for her.

The sound of a loud rumble caught her attention, making her look up to see Kai crouched on the ground in an almost animalistic stance. Backing away, she watched as his muscles spasmed and fur sprout from every inch of his body. Kai's hands and feet turned to large paws and his perfect face was covered in fur. His body grew and continued to do so, until in the place Kai had once stood, a large grizzly bear stood staring at Leah.

Leah's mouth dropped open, no sound coming from her throat. Could this day get any weirder? Cautiously, she walked up to the bear, silently berating herself for hesitantly approaching the overly large grizzly. She turned into a giant wolf, for land's sake. As her tan hand landed in surprisingly soft fur, she looked into the bear's large face and stared into those big, grey eyes, eyes that could belong to no one else but Kai Whitfield.

Kai nuzzled Leah's neck with his snout, making her let out a soft laugh. He watched as Leah leant into him, his ears perking as he heard her whisper, "Okay, I get it now. I don't know about opening my heart to you completely yet, but I guess I'm willing to try it. I just don't want to be hurt anymore, that's all."

The bear let out what sounded like a whine and nudged Leah, sitting on its haunches and giving her an expectant look. Leah realized Kai wanted her to sit next to him, and also knew he was letting her know that he would wait for her. Smiling she sat down next to Kai in his grizzly form and leant into his side, laughing when he lifted his large foreleg and wrapped his paw around her, holding her close to him.

* * *

"Leah did what?!" Jacob shouted. Everyone was taking a break from training at the moment and Bella had taken that opportunity to pull her boyfriend away from everyone and tell him what had transpired between her and Leah that morning. Needless to say, Jacob was not at all happy with what he had heard.

Bella tried to calm him down as she said, "Jake, it was partly my fault too. I was the one that tried to assert myself to her and try and make her obey me."

Jacob gripped his hair and said, "That is still no reason for what she did! She got physical with you, Bella! Did she even apologize?" Bella biting her lip in nervousness was all the answer Jacob needed. Letting out a growl, he said, "That's it, I'm tired of her crap. I get she's hurt and bitter, but that doesn't give her the right to do that. I'm going to go and find her and make her apologize to you."

"Are you going to strip her of her Beta title?" Bella asked.

"No, but I do want her to give a formal apology. I'm going to find her and you can come with me," Jacob said before stripping and tying his clothes to his strap. He then phased into the big russet wolf Bella loved and knelt down, indicating for her to get on his back. Bella awkwardly did so and once she did, Jacob took off, ignoring the Pack's questions as to where they were going.

Bella held on tight to her Imprint as they ran through the woods, hoping that Jacob wouldn't be too hard on the she wolf. She deserved it, but she still didn't want her boyfriend to be too hard on his Beta. As they kept going, Bella realized that this part of the woods did not look familiar at all. She knew Jacob was following Leah's scent, but she couldn't help but wonder why Leah was way out here?

Jacob's growl broke her out of her thoughts as he stopped suddenly. Looking up, Bella saw what Jacob was seeing, her chocolate brown eyes widening in surprise. There Leah was standing in front of a massive grizzly bear, the bear seeming to be advancing on Leah. Bella quickly scrambled off of Jacob's back as his snarl alerted Leah and the bear's attention.

Leah's look of surprise matched Bella's as she reached out to place a hand in the bear's fur. The bear however was still growling at Jacob, Jacob doing the same. The next thing either girl knew, the russet wolf ran to attack the bear, the bear doing the same towards the wolf.

It was a blur of russet and brown fur, teeth and claws scratching wherever they could. The bear was easily bigger than the wolf, but that didn't stop the wolf from trying to beat him. He was trying to protect his Pack mate from the bear that was sure to attack her, after all. While that was happening, Bella quickly ran to Leah and grabbed her arm, trying to drag her away from the fight.

"Leah, come on!" Bella said frantically. "We need to get out of here! Jake can handle this!"

Leah planted her feet and tugged her arm away from the girl, saying, "No! I need to stop this. This is just a misunderstanding!"

Bella wanted to say something in retaliation, but before she could, she felt the ground shake beneath her. Leah felt it too and looked around with Bella as they tried to figure out what was coming their way, as the shaking got rougher.

Suddenly five bears appeared, two brown and the other three black. They were all growling and snarling as they saw their sleuth mate fighting with a large wolf. One of the black bears gave a roar and bounded for the two fighting animals, smashing into the wolf that was attacking their Alpha. The wolf let out a howl of obvious pain, making Bella yell, "Jake! No, stop it!"

Without thinking Bella ran into the midst of all the commotion, somehow evading the large bears and reaching Jacob with no problem. The bears were surrounding the two, growling at them in unison. Right when one of the newcomer bears were going to make a move, they were surprised when an unknown Native girl ran in front of the wolf and pale faced girl, a hard look on her face.

Brown eyes glared at all of the bears before Leah said, "Back up off of my Alpha. That means you too, Kai."

The bears looked at their Alpha, waiting for a command from him. The Alpha grizzly stared at his Imprint before nodding his big head and taking a step back. The rest of his sleuth did the same and they all stood and watched as the large wolf turned back into his naked human form.

Jacob looked up at the bears before looking at Leah. Standing up he advanced on his Beta and asked, "Leah, what the hell? What is this?"

A growl reached their ears and the grizzly that he had been fighting moved to stand next to Leah, towering over all three of them as he glared at Jacob. Leah looked at the bear and calmly said, "Kai, turn back. I think this conversation will be better to have where we can all actually talk."

The bear, Kai, phased back to stand next to Leah just as naked as Jacob. The rest of the bears followed suit, leaving five naked men in their places. When it was apparent that there was going to be no more fights, Jacob said, "Leah, please explain all of this."

Leah nodded and told Jacob about how she met Kai, leading up to him showing her his bear form. While doing so, she also let Kai know that she was a Quileute wolf Shifter and Beta to her Pack. It was when Kai mentioned that he had Imprinted on Leah did Jacob apologize, saying that he thought he was trying to attack her.

Jacob suddenly realized that because of Leah meeting bear Shifters from the Hoh Reservation, this could work to their advantage against the leeches that were coming tomorrow. Without hesitation, he said, "Kai, right? How would you and your pack like to help us out with a problem?"

"Okay, we're called a sleuth, not a pack. And that depends on what the issue is," Kai replied.

"There are vampires coming that are very lethal, one of which was her ex-fiance," Leah said pointing to Bella. "He's got his panties in a twist because she chose Jake here over him, and now thinks that by telling those vampires about us wolf Shifters, he can get her back or something like that. Also, they hate werewolves, so you can see where this is going."

Kai's hands balled into fists at hearing that his Imprint may possibly be massacred along with her Pack mates. He looked at his sleuth and asked them would they mind visiting the other wolves and vampires that were going to stand with them. His Beta, whose name was Caleb, stepped forth and said, "Our Alpha's mate is in the Pack that some leeches want to kill. Of course we will help in any way that we can. We're ready for a fight if there is going to be one."

Jacob smiled and held his hand out to Kai, shaking his hand as he thanked him. Kai suggested that they all head back to the Hoh Reservation to get into Caleb's dad's van to head to wherever it was that Jacob's Pack and the nice vampires were. Everyone agreed, their discussion only broken when Bella asked red-faced, "Can everybody please put some clothes on?"

* * *

 **Author's Note: Brownie points to those that guessed Kai was a bear Shifter!**


	18. Chapter 18

Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 18

The atmosphere was so intense it could be cut with a knife. The Quileute wolves were standing with their arms crossed as they glared at the Hoh bears who were also glaring back at them. Bella, Jacob, Leah, and Kai stood and stared back and forth between the two groups, hoping a fight wouldn't break out between them. Paul had already butted heads with one of the bears called Sebastian and there was really no need for another altercation without the purpose for the bear Shifters being there known. The Cullens were standing off to the side watching as well, amused smiles on Rosalie and Jasper's faces.

Jacob let out an exasperated sigh and said, "Paul, rein it in, will you? These guys are here to help us."

Paul glared at his Alpha before turning his head, grumbling under his breath. Whatever he said made Collin laugh a little while making Jared roll his eyes. Jacob rolled his eyes as well before turning to face the Cullens, saying, "Doc, Mrs. Cullen, family, these are the bear Shifters from the Hoh Reservation. This is Kai, their Alpha, Caleb the Beta, Sebastian, Orion, Darius, and Isaac."

"It's wonderful to meet you. And it's fascinating that you all are Shifters of another kind. I had no idea that there were others in Washington," Carlisle said as he stepped forth and shook every one of the bears' hands. Esme smiled and said, "Yes, welcome and thank you so much for wanting to help us."

Kai nodded and said, "It's really no trouble. After all, I can't have anything happening to Leah."

Paul frowned and said, "The fuck?"

Seth stepped forward and asked, "Are you a friend of my sister's?"

Kai nodded and said, "Yes, you could say that."

"Why don't you just say that you Imprinted on her?" Orion said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. When his Alpha glared at him along Leah, he held up his hands and said, "My bad."

A new voice suddenly cut in, saying, "Leah's been Imprinted on?"

Everyone turned and was surprised to see Sam standing not far off, surprise, confusion, and a bit of hurt in his eyes. Sam looked at Leah before looking at Kai, a scowl marring his face. He stalked over to the bear Shifter, getting in his face and asking, "Who are you? And who do you think you are Imprinting on Leah?"

Leah pushed Sam away and glared at him, saying, "Back off, Sam. And what does it matter to you anyway? You have my cousin in case you have forgotten, so shut up and piss off."

Sam looked like he wanted to say more but Jacob told him to be quiet. Frowning the former Alpha scoffed and stalked away into the woods, punching a tree as he went on. There was an awkward silence before Bella cleared her throat and said, "Anyway, we've brought the Hoh Shifters here so you could fill them in on everything that is going to transpire tomorrow."

Carlisle nodded and he, Alice, Jasper told the bears everything that they needed to know. Leah had stepped away to speak with the rest of the Pack about it as well, as per Jacob's request considering the leader of the bears had Imprinted on the Pack's Beta. While that was happening, Jacob wrapped his arms around Bella and stuck his face in her neck, breathing in her scent.

Bella wrapped her arms around her boyfriend as well and whispered, "I hope with their help everything turns out okay."

Jacob nodded and said, "I'm sure it will. There is no way we can lose if a fight breaks out. I mean, did you see the sizes of their bear forms? They completely tower over me, and I'm the biggest wolf in the Pack."

"I saw, but I don't want a fight to break out because of me again. Haven't I caused enough trouble already? And now this is happening because I didn't marry Edward as promised. All I seem to do is cause trouble for you, the Pack, and the Cullens," Bella said softly. She sighed before saying, "Maybe it would have been best if I had just gone through with the wedding."

Jacob frowned and pulled away from his girlfriend, placing his hands on her shoulders as he looked her in her eyes. Gazing into them he asked, "Bells, do you love me?" When Bella nodded, he asked, "Do you regret being with me?" A headshake of 'no' was her response. "Then don't worry about it. I know it's impossible for you not too, considering all of the leeches coming plus that bastard one, but I promise that I will protect you with my life. And no matter what happens, you have my heart like I have yours. Okay?"

Bella nodded and whispered, "Okay."

The young man gave a small smile and bent his head to plant a kiss on the girl's soft lips. Pulling away he chuckled at the light blush dusting Bella's cheeks before kissing her again with more passion. Jacob moved from her lips to her cheek and headed down her neck, the kisses tingling Bella's skin and making her giggle. She playfully pushed her boyfriend away and said, "Down, boy."

The two of them laughed before Jacob scooped Bella up in his arms, holding her bridal style and spinning her around, delighted laughter spilling from her lips. While the two of them were in their own little world, they missed the kind and fond smiles that the Cullens, a few members of the Pack, and all the members of the Sleuth gave them. Despite everything that would happen in just hours, it was nice to see a bit of happiness in the bleak atmosphere surrounding them.

* * *

All of the Shifters were panting on the ground as Jasper wrapped up the intense training session. It was one in the morning and Alice had said that the Volturi would be arriving at eleven AM. That would give everyone a good eight hours of sleep before meeting at the same clearing where they fought Victoria's army of newborns. Carlisle finished thanking everyone and told them to rest easy. The Hoh Shifters said farewell to everyone, though Isaac and Seth took a little longer to say goodbye, as they had quickly bonded and became friends from being some of the youngest in their groups. Also with both of Seth's and Isaac's outgoing personalities, it was easy for them to become friends and exchange phone numbers.

Kai walked up to Jacob and held out his hand saying, "Thank you for inviting us to help your cause. We promise we won't let you down."

"No problem, man. And I have faith that you all will show up tomorrow. After all, you got to protect your Imprint, right?" Jacob said, shaking Kai's hand with a smirk on his face.

The Alpha bear laughed and nodded before walking over to Leah who was waiting to speak with him. Bella and Jacob watched the two of them interact, Kai gently moving Leah's hair from her face before planting a kiss on her forehead. Leah gave him a small smile before waving goodbye to him as Kai and his Sleuth ran into the woods to head back to their homeland.

As soon as they were gone, Rosalie said, "They don't smell like the wolves do. I wonder why that is."

Esme shook her head before inviting the wolves to their house to get a bite to eat, but the Pack declined as they were tired and ready to just sleep. Jacob told them to head on back ahead of him because he wanted to stay with Bella for a while longer. As they left, Rosalie stepped up and told Bella that she took the liberty of calling Charlie and telling him that she was staying with her in her apartment for the night. When Bella asked when she did that, Rosalie told her around seven o' clock PM.

Handing over the keys to her convertible, Rosalie said, "Go on, you two. You can use mine and Emmett's apartment for the night. Just be here around nine or ten, okay?"

Bella nodded and took the keys from Rosalie before Jacob pulled her over to the blonde vampire's car. Jacob took the keys and climbed in the driver's seat, Bella in the passenger seat. As Jacob drove away and headed towards town, Bella heard her phone chime alerting her of a text message. Opening it she saw it was from Rosalie. It had the address of her apartment which was in Forks and not Port Angeles like she had assumed. Bella gave Jacob the address and he drove them to that location.

Fifteen minutes later they pulled up to the apartment complex that Rosalie and Emmett lived in and walked inside towards the elevator, getting in as a family stepped out. Once inside the elevator, Bella pressed the button for the fourth floor (the top floor) and they rode the elevator all the way up. Reaching the fourth floor, Bella and Jacob walked along the hallway until Bella stopped in front of a door that said #4G; this was the place.

Taking the keys back from Jacob, Bella found the key that unlocked the door and put it in the lock, turning it until the door was unlocked and pushed open. As soon as they both stepped inside, Jacob slammed the door shut, locked it, threw Rosalie's keys on the couch and grabbed Bella from behind, spinning her around and kissing her roughly. His hands were touching every inch of her he could touch, moaning at the feel of Bella's hands running through his hair.

"Jake," Bella sighed softly, kissing him again before running her hands up his bare torso. Jacob shivered at the feel of his love's hands on him and was overcome with the need to touch her naked body. Picking her up and wrapping her legs around his waist, he carried her down the hall while kissing along her neck, walking into the first bedroom he found. It looked like a guest room, so Rosalie and Emmett wouldn't have to worry about them having sex in their bed.

Dropping Bella on the bed Jacob crawled over her and lifted her shirt off of her, kissing her stomach and going lower until he reached her jeans. He unbuttoned and unzipped them, dragging them down her legs and taking them off along with her shoes and socks. He then proceeded to take off her bra and underwear, leaving her completely bare. Jacob looked down at his lover, groaning at the sight of Bella flushed and panting, her hair laid out around her hair and as naked and beautiful as she was the first time they made love.

Bella blushed a little before opening her legs a bit, showing Jacob her wet and needy twat. She watched as he licked his lips before he bent down below her, his face even with her private area. A gasp left her lips when she felt a wet tongue lick the length of her slit before it slipped inside her. Bella threw her head back and moaned loudly while Jacob commenced to eating her out. She cried out in pleasure when he sucked on her clit, her hips grinding into his face from the pleasure Jacob was giving her. They had never done this before and the sensation was so intense; Bella didn't think she'd be able to hold off her orgasm. And she was right, for when Jacob stuck a finger inside her, she came all over his finger, her juices coating his hand and chin.

Jacob sat up and licked his hand clean, wiping his chin of Bella's juices before licking that up as well. He couldn't believe how delicious she tasted and he wanted more, but his dick was straining in his cut off shorts. Standing back up he took off his shorts, along with his own shoes, and was just as naked as his lover. He got back on the bed ready to stick himself inside of Bella's entrance when suddenly he was flipped over onto his back. Jacob's surprised yelp turned into a groan when a hot, wet mouth engulfed his shaft, a heavenly tongue licking him up and down.

Bella hummed and sucked around Jacob's penis, fondling his sac and rubbing her hand up and down his organ. She was pleased to find that she was pleasuring him, judging from the sounds he was making. She had never done that before, but she figured she had the logistics of it from hearing the many tales Jessica would give about sucking off Mike. Also back when she was still somewhat friends with her and Angela, before she let Edward become the center of her world, she had had a sleepover with them at Jessica's place and through a game that both she and Angela lost, Jessica had them watch a porn movie. It had been…..educational. Bella was brought out of her thoughts by Jacob's voice as his hand took a hold of her hair.

"Bells, I can't hold it in," Jacob warned before shooting his load into Bella's mouth. Bella gave a surprised cough but swallowed all that her lover had to give. She panted a little as she moved over top of Jacob, looking down at his own panting form.

"How did I do? Was it good or bad?" she asked him, feeling a little nervous all of a sudden.

Jacob gave Bella a look of disbelief. Was she seriously asking that question right now? She had just gotten him off with her mouth and she wanted to know if it was bad? Growling in his throat, Jacob grabbed Bella by the back of her head and slammed their lips together as he wrapped his muscular arms around her waist.

Bella moaned into the kiss as she reached back and grabbed Jacob's dick, moving it until it finally slipped into her entrance where she sat down fully on it. Jacob hissed at the tightness that surrounded him before helping Bella move, his face buried in her neck. The brunette groaned as she bounced in Jacob's lap, her arms wrapping around his neck and fingers burying themselves in jet black hair. Jacob looked at the naked boobs bouncing in his face before kissing them, taking one of Bella's nipples into his mouth and sucking on it before moving to the next one.

The man then lunged forward, dropping the girl on her back before thrusting hard and fast into her. Their moans of pleasure mixed together, their voices filling the room as Bella's sounds of pleasure began to heighten in volume. Bella could feel herself reaching her second orgasm already. It was fast approaching and she knew that it would take her by surprise at any moment. Jacob could also feel himself reaching his end and with the way Bella's muscles got continuously tight around him, he knew she was almost at her peak as well. Reaching down between them, he began to rub his love's clit with a quick back and forth motion, causing her to squeal and scream his name as she clenched around him and came all over his penis. Jacob groaned as he tensed before burying himself inside of Bella, coming hard from the pleasurable sensations that he had felt.

The two of them laid there panting as they tried to catch their breaths, sweat and other bodily fluids covering their naked bodies. Bella hummed and ran her hands over Jacob's sweaty back before moving them to his face, lifting it from her neck to kiss him sweetly on the lips. Jacob returned the kiss just as sweetly before pulling himself out of her, chuckling at the moans she released from the movement and the feel of his essence leaking out of her.

"Are you okay?" he asked her softly, caressing her face and brushing her hair out of her face.

"Yeah, that was amazing," Bella said breathlessly, gazing up at him with love filled eyes. "I love you."

Jacob smiled and returned the sentiment, telling her they should go and take a shower. Bella nodded and allowed Jacob to carry her to the bathroom where they took a loving shower together, letting their love for each other be the only thing they focused on at the moment. The confrontation with the Volturi that would happen in a few hours however was also still there in their minds, refusing to be ignored. But for the time being, the two of them would certainly try.


	19. Chapter 19

Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

 **Author's Note: I forgot to do this before and in the last chapter, but I just want to thank sarahmichaela88 for helping me with the names for the bear Shifters, including Leah's beloved Kai. Thanks so much, hun! Now I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It will lead up to the confrontation in the next chapter. Love, SehunsBae37.**

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 19

"Bells. Wake up, honey. It's time to get ready to go," Jacob's deep voice softly called in Bella's ear, making her give a light groan before she turned over to face him. Smiling down at his girlfriend as she blurrily blinked her brown eyes open, he gave her a kiss before saying, "Morning."

Bella covered her mouth as she yawned before saying, "Morning."

She was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes when she realized what the day was. The Volturi would be arriving in Forks today! The _Volturi_ were arriving _today!_ Fully awake Bella sat up and looked at the bedside clock, seeing it say that it was a quarter past nine. She had less than two hours to get ready and arrive at the Cullen mansion before eleven. Scrambling out of bed she rushed to the bathroom and began to rummage through Rosalie and Emmett's things, looking for a hairbrush and a spare toothbrush and toothpaste. Once she found everything Bella set to work on brushing her teeth, reminding herself to use the toilet before leaving the bathroom completely.

Once Bella was done in the bathroom she rushed back into the guest room and began to put on her clothes from the day before. Jacob was already dressed and was sitting patiently on the bed as Bella moved finished dressing and putting on her socks and shoes. When it was obvious she was ready, Jacob pulled her to him and sat her down on his lap. Holding Bella close he bent his head and placed his ear right over her heart, listening to its steady if not slightly quickened beating.

"Jake?" Bella softly said wanting to know what was wrong.

"Just let me listen for a while, please. I don't want to think anything bad will happen, but just in case, I want to hear your heart one more time," Jacob whispered, closing his eyes as he held Bella tighter, but not enough to crush her. Bella gave a small, sad smile before wrapping her arms around his shoulders, kissing the top of his head before laying her cheek on his crown.

They both were anticipating the moment it turned eleven AM, but they just wanted to have these few more minutes of alone time. After all, this could be the day that they said 'goodbye' forever.

* * *

Leah sat in the living room of her home as she waited for her brother to finish getting dressed. Jacob had told all of the Pack to arrive at the Cullen's place fully dressed, but when it got time to meet those other leeches, already be phased and ready to attack if necessary. He had told Leah to call Kai and tell him to meet them there as well (she texted him the address) and to be ready to phase themselves if need be at the confrontation.

"Seth! Come on, are you ready to go yet?! It's a quarter till ten!" Leah called down the hall, groaning when Seth called back 'no'. Sue had left for work already, but she kissed both of her kids before leaving and told them to watch out for one another and to come back to the Reservation alive.

Just as Leah settled herself to wait for another five to ten minutes, a knock on the door got her attention. Standing up she walked over to the front door and opened it. A frown appeared on her face as she asked, "What do you want, Sam?"

Sam rubbed the back of his neck and he looked somewhat nervous. Clearing his throat he asked, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Leah regarded him for a moment before nodding and stepping outside with Sam. Once she closed the door behind her she asked, "Alright, what do you want?"

"Well, it's about that Hoh bear Shifter, the one that was with you. He said he Imprinted on you. Is that really true?" Sam said looking like he was bothered by it.

"Yes, it's true," Leah answered easily.

"And you're okay with that?"

"I'm going to have to be okay with it; it's not like I get a say in the matter."

"But do you like him? I mean, do you seriously like him?"

"Maybe! God, what is the matter with you, Sam? You're acting jealous and you have no reason to be! What do you want from me, Sam?"

Sam stood there for a moment, his eyes looking over Leah's face. It was times like this that he remembered what they had and the way he hurt her when he Imprinted on her cousin. He hadn't meant to do it, but like Leah had said, he didn't get a say in the matter. But even so, he still harbored feelings for Leah; they weren't as strong as they used to be and in no way did they surpass his feelings for Emily, but he knew they were still there. And if there was one thing he promised himself concerning Leah, it was that he wouldn't allow her to ever be hurt again.

Taking a breath he finally said, "I just don't want you to get hurt again. I've done it without meaning to and I know it took you a long time to recover. And now there is a new guy in the picture who Imprinted on you, the very same reason why we broke up in the first place. Leah, I still care about you and I just want to make sure that you're okay with this."

Leah could see the sincerity and concern in her ex's eyes as he spoke. He really did just want to make sure that she wasn't bothered and wasn't going to get hurt. In a way it made her feel good, but she knew things were never going to be the way they used to be. Letting out a sigh of her own, she said, "Sam, I'm going to be okay. I know the tension between us is unbearable and that you still care for me, but truthfully I'm over it. At this point I just want you to be happy, and it's obvious that you are with Emily."

"And what about you? Will you be happy with that Kai character?" Sam asked.

Nodding Leah answered, "Yeah, I think I will be. He said he'd wait for me to open my heart to him, so I guess we'll see when that happens."

The two of them shared a small laugh before it was silent between them again. The silence was broken when Leah said, "I'll be happy Sam, and you be happy as well. And just know that I still care about you, too."

Sam nodded with a small smile before holding his arms out slightly, silently asking for a hug. Leah rolled her eyes before smiling herself, stepping into Sam's arms and wrapping her own around them. The hug was intimate but intimate on a friendship level, and they were both glad they were able to reach this point. It was the start of the healing of their own relationship, even if it wasn't romantic anymore and they had their own significant others.

"Thanks for talking to me, Lee-Lee, and I'm still sorry for hurting you," Sam said softly before pulling away. Leah nodded before telling him it was fine. With a smirk she then told him to round up the rest of the Pack and head on to the Cullen mansion; she and Seth would be right behind them. Sam laughed as he nodded and ran off, leaving Leah standing on her porch with a small smile on her face.

"I'm ready, sis!" Seth called before he stepped outside. Leah rolled her eyes and took her car keys from him before she and him went to her car to head into Forks. Halfway to the Cullen mansion, Seth suddenly said, "I feel weird."

Leah frowned and asked, "Why do you say that?"

Seth shook his head, a confused expression on his face as he answered, "I don't know. I just feel weird, like something is going to happen today."

"Well yeah, we're about to face off against the rulers of all leeches in an hour. So yes, something is going to happen today."

"No, I mean to me. Something is going to happen to me, something big; I can feel it."

Leah looked at her brother before looking back towards the road, wondering what could be weird enough to force a feeling in him. Deciding to shake it off for the time being, she continued driving to the Cullen mansion, mentally preparing herself for what was to come.

* * *

By ten fifteen everyone was there and accounted for at the Cullen household. Everyone of course said their 'good mornings' and 'hellos', Kai immediately presenting Leah with a tight hug and kiss on the cheek, making her turn a bright shade of red and having her push him off of her, making Kai chuckle. Bella had seen the display and couldn't help but smile, happy that it seemed Leah had herself a good one that would definitely stay. It wasn't long before Carlisle got everyone's attention.

"Welcome, everyone. As you all know, we are gathered here for a common purpose. And that purpose is to stand and face the Volturi in a matter of minutes, as well as a former family member of hours," Carlisle said, swallowing unnecessarily at the mention of said family member. It was apparent that Edward's betrayal hit him rather hard. A comforting hand on his shoulder from Esme made him sigh before continuing. "We don't know what this confrontation will bring. There could be a fight, there could be a peaceful outcome; we don't know. But what we do know is that we need to stand together."

Carlisle turned to Bella and said, "I wish you did not have to be there, Bella. But if I know Aro like I do, he will wish for you to be there to speak with you directly about your decision to not marry Edward."

Bella swallowed harshly and nodded, fear creeping into her system at the aspect of meeting Aro a second time. Jacob sensed her nervousness and fear and wrapped a strong arm around her, drawing her close to him. Bella relaxed a little and remembered to breathe, wishing herself that she didn't have to be there either.

Alice stepped forward and said, "Everything is still in the same order as it was when I first saw it. The Volturi will still be arriving at eleven sharp and they will have Edward with them."

Rosalie nodded and said, "Well, let's get this freak show on the road."

Everyone agreed and stepped outside, the Pack sans Jacob taking off their clothes and phasing. Leah having dignity went around the side of the house to do so and emerged in her wolf form. Jasper asked how Bella, Jacob, and the Sleuth would get to the empty field that they were going to meet the Volturi at; they were going to be following Alice since she was the one who knew when they were coming and where they would be arriving. Esme asked the Pack would they mind carrying them, to which they looked towards Jacob for an answer. Jacob nodded and the Pack all begrudgingly bent down. Kai walked over to Leah (he had seen her walk around the house and emerge in her wolf form) and asked her if he could ride on her back, to which she growled at him, basically telling him 'no'. Jacob told Leah to allow Bella to ride on her before he, Kai, and the rest of the bear Shifters chose a wolf to ride on. Paul growled at Sebastian as he walked by before walking over to Jacob, crouching to allow him to ride. Once everyone was ready to go Alice took off running, Jasper beside her and the rest behind them.

Two minutes later they arrived in the mountains, in the same field where the newborn battle had taken place. The atmosphere was misty, a dense fog seeming to stand on the other side of the field. As everyone dismounted their wolf, Bella slid off of Leah's back and walked over to Jacob, letting him wrap his arms around her and hold her close. She didn't want to be here, it brought back painful memories. The one that stood out the most was when she finally kissed Jacob, but had thought that even so there would be no future for them because she knew she would ultimately choose Edward. And now here she was again, because of her and the choices she made. But even so, she didn't regret her decision at all. She loved Jacob and wanted to be with him and wouldn't be deterred, so Edward could go stuff it for all she cared.

"It's ten-thirty now, we have half an hour," Carlisle announced, only to be interrupted by a gasp. Everyone turned to Alice who was standing stock still, seemingly looking into space and a look of concern on her face. Jasper grabbed his mate's shoulder's and asked, "Alice, what is it? What do you see?"

Alice didn't answer, though her mouth opened as if she was going to speak. Finally she blinked, another gasp escaping her lips before saying, "They're early. The Volturi, they're here already."

Bella felt her heart stop for a moment as she and everyone else turned to look into the fog, waiting for the arrival of the Volturi. And then one by one, red and black cloaked figures stepped through the fog, coming to a stop as they looked at their waiting audience. Bella could see Edward standing within the ranks of the vampires, staring intensely at her with an almost wild expression and making her burrow into Jacob's side.

Aro stepped forward and observed the scene before him. With a laugh he said, "Well well, my old friend. It seems we have quite the conundrum, don't we?"


	20. Chapter 20

Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 20

"Hello, Aro," Carlisle said taking a step forward. "I wish we were meeting under different circumstances this morning."

"As do I, my old friend. But unfortunately the promise you gave us was broken. I already know why young Isabella did not marry young Edward, but I would like to hear it from you. Tell us Carlisle, tell us why the wedding was not gone through with," Aro said, he hands folded neatly in front of him as he stared at the group across from him with his red eyes.

Bella looked at Carlisle and saw him take an unnecessary breath before speaking. The Cullen coven leader nodded before saying, "At the wedding Bella had a realization that she could not marry Edward because her heart belonged to another. Therefore she decided to forgo the wedding and a marriage to my son."

Aro nodded and said, "A pity, especially since she was so certain about her love for young Edward. And who is the young man that she ran away to?"

Jacob stepped forth with Bella in his arms, squaring his shoulders as he said, "That would be me."

"And who would you be, young man?" Aro asked.

"Jacob Black," Jacob answered, holding Bella closer to him. He watched as Aro looked them over, his nose scrunching up as he got an obvious whiff of his scent. The vampire took another smell of Jacob before looking at the other wolves standing with the rest of the Cullens. He also noticed a group of young men standing with them and noticed they smelled rather sweet. He wondered why that was.

Turning back to face his brothers Aro said, "Caius, Marcus, answer me. Don't you notice anything strange about these "werewolves"?"

Caius nodded and answered, "They are larger than normal and are in wolf form while it is daylight."

"It does not matter; I refuse for werewolves to exist," Marcus said.

"We aren't traditional werewolves, though. That prick lied to you," Jacob said, cutting in on their conversation while glaring at Edward. Edward glared back at Jacob as well before his eyes shifted back to Bella. It was then that Bella noticed his eyes weren't the amber that they had been just days ago. No they weren't gold, but they were _red._

Bella gasped and said, "Edward, you didn't."

The rest of the Cullens noticed what Bella seemed to be surprised about and they gasped as well. Well, everyone but Rosalie and Jasper; Jasper suspected it and nothing Edward could and/or would do would surprise Rosalie anymore.

"Edward, how could you feed on humans again?" Carlisle asked, hurt evident on his face and in his voice.

Edward turned away from his sire before turning back to Bella saying, "Don't worry, my love. Once this is all over we will be back together again."

"Fuck you, Edward! There is no way, especially now that Jacob Imprinted on me!" Bella shouted, shutting her mouth immediately when she saw the murderous look that appeared on her ex's face.

"You let that filthy dog Imprint on you?" Edward growled. He took in a deep breath before saying, "You're not a virgin anymore. You let that beast take you? You are _mine!_ "

Jacob and the rest of the Pack growled at Edward, Leah, Paul, Sam, and Jared stepping forward to defend their Alpha and his Imprint in case Edward decided to attack. Aro saw this and signaled for Felix and Demetri to restrain Edward. Once he was restrained he stepped up to Bella and Jacob, the Cullens, Pack, and Sleuth all tensing as he did so, and he asked Jacob for his hand. The wolf Shifter warily handed it over to Aro, watching as his eyes seemed to roll into the back of his head as he hummed in thought. When he finally opened his eyes he chuckled and said, "Well, it seems that there has been a misunderstanding about the nature of you "Shifters". Edward claimed that you were traditional werewolves and that you young Jacob have brainwashed Isabella and taken her. However I see that is not the case."

Marcus stepped forward and asked, "What do you mean, brother?"

"I mean that young Jacob and his Pack are spirit Shifters, the wolf being their tribe's spirit animal. They are not Children of the Moon and never have been. They do not need the moon to be in their wolf forms. And it so turns out that young Isabella cannot marry Edward because she is not his true mate. She is Jacob's true mate and they have already "mated", so to speak."

Bella flushed at Aro's words, causing the old vampire to chuckle. Truly he was fond of Bella but he did have to do things in accordance to vampire law, unless he decided to make an exception. Turning back to Edward he said, "Edward Cullen, you have lied to the Volturi for your own selfish needs. As you know this is punishable by law. As I recall, you wanted to die when you originally thought that Isabella had died, yes?"

Alice gasped and ran forward, wanting to try and stop what she had just seen in her vision. Jasper grabbed her and stopped her, holding her tight as she struggled.

"No!" Alice called out. "Please don't, Aro!"

Esme and Carlisle realized what was about to happen as well, Esme turning her face into her mate's shoulder as to not witness what Aro was about to order. Carlisle had a pained expression on his face as he held his wife, looking on as he began to grieve the would-be loss of his son.

"Well now you may have your wish," Aro said, frowning as he thought about what he was getting ready to instruct. Edward read his mind and began to struggle again, trying to escape Felix and Demitri's grip. Aro watched as the young vampire struggled before turning to Alec, saying, "Alec, you know what to do."

Alec nodded with a sinister smile on his face. Oh, how he hoped this day would come. Facing Edward he released his special gift, the black mist slowly and eerily unfolding from his palms and creeping along the ground towards Edward. The mist wrapped around Edward's legs and traveled up his body until Edward couldn't feel or sense a thing. Aro nodded and motioned towards the two vampires holding Edward, saying, "Demetri, Felix."

Demetri and Felix nodded before Felix grabbed Edward by his head, twisting his neck until his head broke off from the rest of his body. Bella gasped and hid her face in Jacob's chest while Jacob watched on in shock, holding Bella tightly as he witnessed the murder of Edward Cullen.

The two vampires continued to rip Edward apart before Demetri lit a match and dropped it on the pile of limbs that had once been a Cullen son and Bella's ex-fiancé.

"Dude…" Caleb said softly, a look of disturbance on his tan face.

* * *

Jane had watched as her brother cut off the Cullens' golden child's senses before Demetri and Felix finished him off. She had observed how the Cullen family grieved and watched on in horror while the puny human hid in her mate's embrace. The wolves had all adopted uncomfortable looks and whoever the other tan men were looked just as disturbed. Though her face remained emotionless inside she felt, well bad. It was strange but she did, considering she's never felt this for as long as she's been a vampire. Truthfully she had been having what humans call "feelings of regret and remorse" for everything she had done while being with the Volturi guard. She and Alec had been changed when they were young, about thirteen or fourteen (she couldn't remember) so experiencing life as a human and experiencing human emotions was never a choice for them. And now she was feeling them while her brother was not. Jane had not told anyone about what she was suddenly feeling, not even her own brother. She had not even told him that the one thing she wanted in the world was to experience love. Sure she had Alec, but she had come to terms that even though they were twins, he wouldn't die for her like most siblings would. And as she watched the Cullen family, Bella, and that Jacob, she knew that that love she saw between them, romantically and familial was what she wanted. Her red eyes traveled over the wolf Pack and saw how they stood together like a family and seemed to lean on one another, not at all like the Volturi. Her eyes assessed them a bit more before resting on a sandy colored wolf. Said wolf looked at her and suddenly stood upright, staring intently at her. Jane suddenly felt a pull in her chest, right over where her heart should be beating, a pull so powerful it made her release something she hadn't released in years: a gasp.

* * *

Seth whined a little at seeing the one Cullen and vampire that had first showed him any kindness be dismembered. He knew what Edward had done was wrong, but that didn't mean he wanted him to die. He looked away as one of the vampires that had taken part in killing Edward drop a lit match on the pile of body parts. He felt Leah nuzzle his neck in comfort but it wasn't really helping. Oh, how Seth wanted something to just take his mind off of what he had just seen.

He suddenly felt as if someone was staring at him. Looking over to where the he feeling came from he noticed a little light brown haired female vampire staring at him. Seth wondered why when he looked into her red eyes and suddenly felt as if he was lifted off of his feet, well paws. It was almost like he was floating. And suddenly all Seth could see what his future life before him, this female vampire by his side in all of them, only she wasn't pale and her eyes were blue instead of red. Seth suddenly realized what had just happened; he had Imprinted!

Seth flinched when he noticed that the Pack was staring intently at him, Paul and Jared growling at him and advancing on him. Leah, who was just as shocked as her Pack mates, immediately jumped in front of her brother and growled at the two advancing wolves. Bella and Jacob turned to see what was wrong, wondering why in the world Leah was protecting Seth from Jared and Paul. Turning to Aro Jacob said, "Excuse me for a moment, Mr. Volturi. Something is wrong with my Pack."

"Not at all, young Jacob. This has taken an interesting turn to see your own turn on one another," Aro said, his amusement evident on his face. Jacob and Bella hurried over to the wolves, Jacob saying, "Someone tell me what's wrong right now."

Sam phased back, not at all minding his nakedness, and said, "Seth Imprinted on that little leech over there."

Bella gasped and turned to see Jane staring at Seth, her usually stoic face now expressing concern, her red eyes filled with worry.

Kai stepped forward and said, "I hate to break into this, but is Imprinting on a vampire wrong?"

"It is unheard of and what makes the matter worse is that the vampire chick Seth Imprinted on feeds on humans," Sam answered.

"So the puppy Shifter Imprinted on Jane, big deal," Rosalie said crossing her arms.

"It is a rather big deal, Ms. Hale," Marcus cut in.

Caius nodded and said, "Aro, you cannot allow this. One of those dogs cannot be mated with Jane."

Marcus nodded and asked, "What should we do?"

Aro looked intently at the Pack, more specifically at the sandy wolf that was claimed to have found his mate in his weapon. He then looked over at Jane and saw that she seemed to be worried, an expression he had never seen on her face before. To be frank, he did not like it. He wanted his weapons to feel no emotions or feelings for anything and anyone; it helped to make them some of the deadliest he's ever added to his guard. And if one of them was not on the same page as the other, whatever was affecting them had to be eliminated.

Turning to face Carlisle Aro said, "I'm sorry, my old friend. But as you know I cannot have anything interfering with my guard."

"Aro, please. We can talk about this," Carlisle pleaded, but Aro shook his head. Turning back to face Demetri he said, "Demetri, eliminate the pup."

"Yes, Aro," Demetri said before sprinting forward to kill Seth.

Leah immediately ran and jumped in the air, meeting Demetri half way as he tried to jump over her, and crashed into him, her jaws clamping down on his arm. Demetri began to punch at Leah's head, making her whimper and let go. Just as Demetri threw her away, the sound of a yell was heard before it turned into a roar. The Volturi watched in shock as Kai phased on the spot, transforming into the oversized grizzly bear that he was and rush Demetri full speed. Felix jumped in, followed by the rest of the vampires that had come with the Volturi guard while Aro, Marcus, and Caius stood back and watched, neither of them noticing that Jane was still standing still.

The Pack immediately jumped in immediately, followed by the Cullens and the rest of the Sleuth once they phased into their bear forms. Jacob quickly ran towards the woods with Bella, telling her to stay put. When Bella began to plead with the Shifter to stay, he silenced her with a kiss before running back towards the action, phasing mid-run and jumping on Felix who was about to take out Esme.

Bella looked on helplessly, not wanting this fight to be happening. She watched as the battle take place, furry and clothed blurs the only things she could see. Brown eyes left the battle and noticed the kings of the Volturi standing and watching the battle, seemingly uncaring of whether or not people died. Bella then looked towards Jane who was standing and staring at the battle as well. But what really caught her attention was that she was clutching her chest right over her heart.

A loud yelp brought Bella's attention back to the battle and she gasped when she saw Felix gripping Seth around his torso, beginning to crush him. She was about to call towards Jacob or Leah or somebody to help him, when the air was suddenly pierced by a loud screech.

 _"_ _No!"_ Jane screeched before staring intently at Felix, her chest heaving as she did so. Felix yelled out in pain, immediately letting go of Seth. Jane then began to look at the other members of the Volturi that were fighting, putting them all through the same agony she was inflicting on Felix and doubling it. As the Volturi vampires writhed on the ground in agony, Jane ran to Seth's side and checked him over, ignoring the growls of the Pack and the screams of her fellow vampires.

Aro couldn't believe what he was witnessing. Jane had used her abilities against his guard and was using it on all of them at once. She had never been able to do that before and that amazed and worried him at the same time. Stepping forward he said, "Jane, stop it."

Jane turned to look at Aro, glaring at him before focusing her powers on Marcus and Caius, making them both cry out in pain and crumple to the ground. Aro looked behind him at the sight before turning around looking livid.

"Jane, enough! _Now!_ " Aro yelled.

Jane continued to glare at him as she released everyone from her gift. While everyone was recovering Carlisle stepped forward and said, "Aro, let us take in Jane. We can teach her our ways and she will be able to adapt. Also, the Imprint won't allow them to be apart, so you have no choice."

Aro snarled and replied, "Which is why I want that dog dead."

 _"_ _No such thing shall happen,"_ a deep, mystical voice spoke suddenly. Everyone turned to see Jacob, who was back in human form, glowing a bright gold and floating off the ground, his eyes glowing white. Bella ran forward to try and get to her boyfriend but Emmett stopped her, holding her back from whatever was happening to Jacob.

Carlisle stepped forward, recognizing the voice that had come from Jacob's body. He hadn't heard that voice in many years. In an almost questioning tone, he said, "Ephraim?"

 _"_ _Yes, it is me, Carlisle Cullen. Taha Aki has allowed me to bring a message do an act of reformation on young Jane,"_ Ephraim said through his great-grandson. Turning to Jane he approached her and said, _"Jane, you have been blessed with one of the best things that could ever happen to someone. You have been Imprinted on by your one and only. The spirits and gods have been watching you, noticing your hesitation and remorse for everything you have done in your life as a vampire. You are beginning to feel human emotions and have human desires, as well as having the desire to love and be loved. Imprinting not only allows you to find you life mate, but allows you to love and be loved unconditionally. Unfortunately, it is impossible for a spirit wolf to mate with a vampire. Therefore the Quileute gods would like to give you the gift of humanity once more."_

Before Jane could do or say anything, "Ephraim" touched her on her forehead and began speaking in Quileute language. As he did so, Jane's body became engulfed with the same glow that Jacob's body was engulfed in. She floated into the air and began to turn in circles in the air, everyone watching in amazement and confusion. The glow around her grew brighter and brighter until everyone was blinded by the light, even the vampires. When the glow finally died down and Jane's feet touched the ground once more, everyone was astonished at her appearance.

Jane was no longer pasty pale with reds eyes. Standing where the deadly vampire once stood was a teenage girl with fair, cream colored skin and blue eyes, her light brown hair still the same as before. The black robes that were adorning her made her look small and her cheeks a very healthy blush. But the one thing that everyone could hear (except Bella) was the sound of her heart beating for the first time in years.

"What is this?!" Aro exclaimed horrified at seeing one of his best creations transformed back into the girl he had once turned.

"Ephraim" turned to face Aro and said, _"This is work by the Quileute gods and it_ _cannot be undone."_ Turning to face Jane once again, he said, _"You have been given a second chance at a human life. You will now learn love, family, values, and anything else that your heart desires. Use this chance wisely, young Jane."_

He then turned to Seth who was still in his wolf form and was staring at Jane in awe. Getting his attention he said, _"Seth, the gods have allowed you Imprint on Jane because you will undoubtedly love and take care of her. Help be her guide as she explores her new life and protect her at all costs."_

Seth nodded before bowing down to the wolf ancestor. The rest of the wolves bowed as well before looking back up at him. "Ephraim" turned back to Aro and the rest of the Volturi guard that were now standing behind him, Marcus, and Caius. Coming almost nose to nose with Aro he said, _"There is nothing you can do about this situation. Now I suggest that you and the rest of your vampires leave Forks and these people alone. And do not come back for any reason concerning Jane. She is free from your bondage."_ He moved back from Aro, smirking at the shocked and insulted look on his face, glowing bright before the light went out and Jacob dropped to the ground.

Bella rushed to Jacob's side, helping him sit up a little and lightly tapping his face. Shaking him a little she said, "Jake, Jake, wake up."

Jacob groaned and opened his brown eyes, looking up into the worried face of his love. He smiled and reached up to stroke her face, smiling more as she let out a sigh of relief and hug his head to her breast.

Carlisle stepped forward and said, "That's that, Aro. There is nothing you can do about any of the situations that have occurred today. Jane is now human and will be staying with us, and you know the current situation concerning Bella. And now that you've killed Edward, your presence is no longer welcome. Please kindly leave."

Aro could see that he was fighting a losing battle. Carlisle was standing firm with what had said, not to mention he had wolf Shifter and apparently bear Shifters on his side. He nodded and curtly said, "Fine, we will leave you all alone _for now._ But rest assured old friend, we will be in touch."

"I don't doubt it," Carlisle said before Aro and the rest of the Volturi turned around and ran back into the woods, on their way back to Italy and Volterra. The only Volturi member that had not run off with the rest of them was Alec. He was still standing there staring at his twin. Jane noticed this and gave him a small smile before lifting her hand and whispering, "Goodbye, brother."

Alec's face took on a bit of a pained expression before he said, "Goodbye, sister." He then turned and ran off into the woods, leaving behind his twin forever.

Everyone let out a collective sigh before hugging each other, or nuzzling in the Shifter's case. Bella helped Jacob to stand before hugging him close and kissing him passionately. Jacob returned the kiss with just as much passion. Despite everything that had occurred, they were still alive and still together. And that was all that they could ask for in their lives.

* * *

 **Author's Note: I've been contemplating this chapter for the longest time, but I wrote it out anyway. If there are aspects of it that you did not like or thought that could have been better, I am sorry that they did not turn out that way. However, this is how I saw this chapter playing out in my mind and I wrote it as such, so I hope that you like it. Love, SehunsBae37.**


	21. Chapter 21

Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 21

With the threat of the Volturi no longer hanging over them, everyone was able to relax. The Pack and Sleuth decided to go back to their designated Reservations, with the promise to hang out sometimes. Kai however wanted to stay with Leah but knew he had to run home to get some new clothes since he ripped his when he phased to protect Leah. Leah, after she had phased back to her human form away from prying eyes and put her clothes back on, told him to meet her at the Cullen house since that was where the Cullens, Bella, Jacob, Jane, and Seth were going.

Thirty minutes later at the Cullen house Esme was helping Jane to get situated and comfortable in their home. It was easy to tell that Jane was on edge and wasn't completely sure what to do. She hadn't been human for hundreds of years; she didn't know what to do, especially now in the modern world. Despite their past Bella offered to help her adjust to human life, to which Jane shyly nodded and agreed to.

The change in Jane baffled Bella. When she had first met her, the girl had been the most lethal vampire ever and wasn't afraid to demonstrate her power. Now as a human she was shy and reserved. And even though Jane was technically older than her by a lot, Bella was now the older of the two human girls and Jane was going to be turning to her for guidance. It felt weird to Bella, but she was used to weird by that point.

Once everyone was settled down Carlisle said, "Jane, welcome to our humble abode and your new home. Even though you are now human and you came from the Volturi, we willingly take you in as a part of our family. I will have papers drawn up to make it seem as if we have adopted you and your name will officially be Jane Cullen. I hope that you will soon find comfort here."

Jane nodded and softly said, "Yes, sir."

"Please, call me Carlisle. Anyway, do you by chance remember how old you were when Aro first turned you?"

"I'm not sure, maybe fourteen?"

"She looks like a fourteen year old," Emmett piped up, Jasper nodding in agreement.

Carlisle nodded and said, "Alright then, you will be considered fourteen years of age and today will be your birthday since you became human again today, if that is alright with you."

Jane nodded and said, "That's fine. But I do wonder about something."

Esme sat beside of Jane of the couch and asked, "What is it, dear?"

"This place called 'school'. I wouldn't have to be enrolled yet, would I?" Jane asked.

Rosalie shook her head and answered, "No, you wouldn't. You need to get caught up on everything human first. You probably won't start school until next fall to where we can teach you everything you need to know."

Bella nodded and said, "And if you ever need another human to talk to you can talk to me."

"Thank you, Bella," Jane said with a small smile.

Seth, who had come back from the restroom, immediately sat on the other side of Jane and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him. Jane's blue eyes widened considerably before a blush covered her face and her smile widened. Jacob chuckled at the scene before saying, "Earth to fifteen year old boy; she's not ready."

"I know that, Jake. I just feel the need to hold her right now," Seth replied, his face buried in Jane's neck.

Alice walked over and pulled Jane away from Seth, ignoring his growl as she said, "You two will get a chance to get to know each other later. I'm going to find something else for Jane to wear before I throw these robes out, and then Bella, Rosalie and I are going to take her shopping."

Bella let out a sigh before asking why she needed to go. Alice simply replied she needed to her to be there to help Jane figure out what her clothing style was. She figured that with the three of them showing her their preferred styles of clothing, Jane would figure out her own. Once she was done explaining she threw Jane over her shoulder and rushed upstairs, returning five minutes later with Jane wearing a teal short sleeve dress and black leather jacket, her black boots still on her feet and complimenting her outfit.

Once the four girls left Jasper asked, "So is Jane taking Edward's room or are we going to empty one and turn it into a girl's room?"

Emmett shrugged and said, "We don't know what she likes and neither does she. I suggest we let her have a room that isn't already used as a bedroom and just put up a bed and dresser and stuff. We'll leave the decorating to the girls."

Jasper nodded before he and Emmett headed upstairs to get started on Jane's room. Jacob looked at Seth and said, "Let's take a walk, buddy. I'm going to give you a lesson on Imprinting 101."

"Oh God," Leah said, rolling her eyes while ignoring her little brother stuck his tongue out at her. Jacob chuckled before letting her know that Kai was pulling up in his car. Leah ran out of the door and ran to Kai's car, jumping in the passenger seat before giving the bear Alpha a passionate kiss on the lips. That display of affection shocked not only Kai, but Seth and Jacob as well. Kai's surprised face turned into a happy one, his mouth stretching in a wide grin and his grey eyes sparkling. He pulled out of the driveway and drove off with Leah, Jacob and Seth walking out into the yard to talk.

Inside the home Esme told Carlisle that she was going to prepare some chicken broth for Jane when she got back. She figured that since the light brunette hadn't eaten any solid foods in years, she would start her off with broths and soups to see how her stomach could handle them. If she could keep those down, hopefully she could start eating solid foods. Esme was happy to be cooking for someone in the house again and since Jane was Imprinted on by Seth, Seth was going to be around a lot as well. So in the end, she would be happily cooking enough for four; one helping for Jane, three helpings for Seth, and whatever was left over she would put away or Seth would eat it.

The matron of the home looked at her mate, noticing the faraway look in his amber eyes. She knew that Carlisle was thinking about Edward and silently mourning his death. She wanted to tell her mate that it wasn't his fault and that there was nothing he could have done to prevent their son's fate, but she knew he wouldn't take it to heart. Edward was his first companion and son and would always hold a special place in his un-beating heart.

Walking over to him she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close, whispering, "It will be alright. We will get through this."

Carlisle nodded and held his mate close, letting her gentle words and embrace sooth him. He would never forget Edward, but he would move on with his immortal life and continue to protect his family.

* * *

Two hours later the girls returned with a carload of clothing bags, less than half of them designer brands. It turned out that Jane's style of clothing was a bit like Bella's, much to Alice's displeasure. After all of Jane's bags were inside the Cullen mansion Rosalie asked, "Is her room ready yet?"

Emmett nodded and said, "Yeah, we just didn't decorate it because we don't know what she likes or her interests."

Jane giggled softly and said, "I don't even know my own interests."

"I'll help you decorate your room and then you can personalize it as time goes on," Alice said with a smile. She turned to Jasper and asked him to help her carry Jane's clothes bags up to her room, Jasper nodding with a fond smile on his face.

Bella shook her head at the familiar display before looking around for her boyfriend. Not seeing him around she asked, "Where's Jacob?"

"In here, Bella!" Jacob called from the kitchen.

Bella rolled her eyes and motioned for Jane to come along with her. It was definitely the kitchen where the two girls found their mates sitting at the table eating a buffet of food. As soon as Jacob saw them walk in he said, "Hey, Bells. Come sit and eat with us."

Seth turned and smiled at them before asking, "Would you like to sit next to me, Jane?"

Jane nodded with a slight blush on her cheeks before sitting next to the young Shifter. Bella and Jacob smiled at the sight as Bella took a seat next to Jacob. Esme walked over to them with a bowl of chicken broth in her hand and set it down in front of Jane.

"Here you are, dear," Esme said, placing a spoon in the broth. "Now because you haven't eaten any solids in a while, I'm starting you off with broths and soups. We'll gradually move on to solid foods when you feel you are ready."

"Thank you, Mrs. Cullen," Jane said politely.

Esme smiled and said, "Call me Esme, dear.

As Esme went to make more food (for dinner later on), Jacob, Seth, Bella, and Jane all talked quietly, enjoying the food that the motherly vampire had prepared. During the talk Bella had laid her head over on Jacob's shoulder, breathing in his comforting scent.

She still couldn't believe that they were still here and still alive. The Volturi was no longer a threat to them and she could be left alone and be with Jacob with no interruption. It was almost too good to be true.

Before she realized it, tears had fallen from Bella's eyes and down her cheeks. Jacob heard her sniffle and looked down at her in concern. Seeing her tears he wiped them away and excused them for a while. Once they were outside away from everyone else Jacob said, "Bells, talk to me. Why are you crying, honey?"

"I'm just, I'm just so relieved. The threat of the Volturi has been over my head ever since I made that impulsive decision to save Edward. I thought that it would be over the moment I married Edward but I decided not to because I realized that I was in love with you. I had completely forgotten that there were Volturi ambassadors to tell Aro whether I went through with the marriage to Edward or not. And then when we're finally happy Alice sees that they are on their way to confront us about why I bailed on the wedding. I was so scared that we were all going to die. I mean, I wouldn't have cared if I had, but if they had killed you right in front of me I wouldn't have been able to handle it. I would have been so much worse than I had been when Edward left me," Bella said, her tears flowing freely as she talked. She wiped her face of her tears, even though more replaced them before she continued. "I've made so many mistakes in the two years that I've been living in Forks, many of them nearly getting me killed. But you're not a mistake, Jacob. Me loving you isn't a mistake. It's probably the one thing that I did right, but it took many mistakes to create a chain of events that I wish I could forget to make me realize it. I just, I just love you."

Jacob stared at his Imprint in slight shock as she finished her speech and continued to cry. Not being able to help himself he cupped her wet cheeks and kissed her fully on the lips, momentarily stopping Bella in her sobs. Pulling away he wrapped his strong arms around her and hugged her to his chest. As he held her he said, "Bella, don't dwell on the past anymore. And don't forget the chain of events that happened, because if they hadn't happened you would never have realized that you loved me. Even though we had to deal with what just happened today as aftermath of you ditching the wedding, we are still here together now and nothing can tear us apart. Okay? I love you, Bella and that will never change."

Bella nodded as Jacob kissed her lips once more and held her close, kissing her forehead as he allowed her to cry the rest of her tears. They were there together and alive. They were in love, and everything was going to be alright. As long as they had each other, nothing could bring them down.


	22. Chapter 22

Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 22

 _(2 Months Later…)_

Bella sat on the toilet as she nervously stared at the white stick. She was supposed to urinate on the tip of it but couldn't bring herself to do so, and damn it if her bladder wasn't screaming at her to pee already. Yes, she had pregnancy test in her hand because she thought she may possibly be pregnant.

She realized she had missed her period two months ago, but she chalked that up to being stressed out from the Volturi, Edward, everything that could have stressed her out concerning the supernatural. Therefore, she didn't think too hard about why she missed her monthly friend. It was last month that she noticed something off about herself. For starters, Bella would sleep in, like _way_ in. Like, three or four in the afternoon in. She then started eating more than usual, only to throw it all up five minutes later. And lastly she would find herself having to go to the bathroom about every fifteen minutes. Bella wondered what was wrong with her, even Jacob had been worried about her being sick. Later Bella realized what all of her symptoms could add up to.

The brunette had been spending time with Jane in her house while Charlie was at work and Jacob was patrolling with Seth for a few hours when she decided to call Leah. She asked the she wolf to buy her a pregnancy test (if she didn't mind, of course), and was surprised when she had agreed. She flushed when she remembered Leah saying, _"With the way you two go at it, it wouldn't be a surprise if you were pregnant. We all saw what Jake did to you; you really are wild in the sack."_

Now here she was waiting to take the test while Jane and Leah waited for her in her room. Taking a deep breath Bella held the white stick underneath her and released her bladder, waiting until she was finished before putting the stick on the edge of the sink, the tip held over the sink. Bella cleaned herself up and flushed the toilet before pulling up her pants and zipping and buttoning them, then she washed her hands. After drying them she sat on the edge of the bathtub and waited anxiously for five minutes to pass by. It felt like the longest five minutes of Bella's life.

Finally the pregnancy test beeped, alerting the brunette that five minutes had passed. Standing up she walked over to the sink and grabbed the pregnancy test, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Opening her eyes, Bella gazed down at the screen that displayed one single word: _Pregnant._

* * *

"What do you think Jacob will do if Bella is pregnant?" Jane asked Leah while looking through Bella's book collection.

Leah, who was waiting for Bella's computer to boot up, answered, "The idiot will probably be the happiest thing on this planet. It doesn't take much for him to get happy concerning Bella."

Jane nodded with a small smile on her face. In the two months that she had been human and living with the Cullens, she had found that she actually enjoyed being human. She found herself having fun and living, something she hadn't done as a vampire. However, Jane absolutely hated having the "bloody visit" she had every month. When it first happened it had absolutely terrified Jane and she screamed for Esme. Esme had appeared a second later and when she saw what was wrong, the mother vampire instructed Alice to immediately throw Jane's bed sheets in the washer while she took Jane to the bathroom, stripped her down, and placed her in the bathtub before running the water. After Jane had tearfully asked what was happening, Esme explained to her what happened to girl's when they grow through puberty and how it was going to happen the rest of her life until she went through menopause. Jane was not pleased to learn this but Bella helped her with ways to ease the pain and get through the next three to four days until her period dried up. She found herself turning to Bella for a lot, but Bella didn't mind and if Jane was honest, Bella had become like an older sister to her. There were times she still missed Alec, but she wouldn't give up her human life for anything.

Footsteps drew their attention and they saw Bella standing in the doorway of her bedroom, the white stick clutched in her hand. Her brown eyes stared at them for a moment before she asked, "Do you think Jacob will be okay with being a father right now?"

The two other girls stared at her for a moment before Leah said, "You're pregnant. Congratulations, Bella."

"Wow, you're going to be a mother," Jane said in awe.

Bella nodded as she looked back down at the pregnancy test, her mind suddenly flashing back to the vision she had that day on the mountain when she had begged Jacob to kiss her. The vision was just as clear to her now as it was then and she found herself smiling. Was she scared about becoming a mother at nineteen and out of wedlock? Yes, of course she was, but she also couldn't help but feel happy that she was having a child with the love of her life. She could have kicked herself that her heart tried to tell her this months ago and she ignored it. Oh well, everything was falling into place now. And with this new chapter that was coming, Bella decided that she was truly happy with how everything had turned out.

* * *

Leah left Bella's house fifteen minutes later, Jane catching a ride with her to La Push. Leah was on her way home to have a nap before patrolling later that night, and Jane wanted to see Seth. The she wolf could already see the adoration her little brother held for the former vampire, but now she was beginning to see the same affection being reciprocated from Jane. The light brunette still had a poker face that was hard to see through most of the time, but whenever she was with Seth, she seemed to smile more than whenever she wasn't with him. Therefore there was no doubt in Leah's mind that Jane did not feel the same towards Seth.

It wasn't long before she pulled up in front of her home and she was surprised to see Kai's car there. Leah and Kai had been seeing each other ever since that day she kissed him after the confrontation with the Volturi. It hadn't happened again, but Leah could fully admit that her affections for Kai were more than she thought they could be. Stopping the car and putting it in park, Leah cut it off and got out, Jane following behind her. Just when the she wolf was about to open the front door to her home, it swung open and revealed a Seth who was freshly showered and dressed .

"Hey, sis," Seth said before rushing past her towards Jane. He enveloped Jane in a warm hug and lifted her off the ground, whirling her around in a circle. Jane giggled softly and held on to the Shifter until he placed her back on her feet. "Hey, Jane! I missed you."

"You spoke to me this morning," Jane said, tapping her pocket where her phone was.

Seth nodded and said, "Yes, and I missed you immediately after hanging up the phone."

Jane blushed and allowed Seth to pull her over to the motorbike that Jacob had given him and got on it, Jane settling behind him and holding him tight. Seth revved up the engine before riding off with Jane, ignoring Sue as she appeared in the doorway and called after him.

Sue huffed and looked at her daughter, saying, "That boy is so smitten with that girl he can't even remember to clean his room like he promised."

Leah smirked and said, "Threaten to forbid him from seeing Jane for a week, he'll clean it."

Sue rolled her eyes as she and Leah entered the house. Leah spotted Kai sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of herbal tea and she walked over to the table. Kai looked up at her and grinned saying, "Hey, Leah."

"Hi," Leah replied. "What's up?"

Before Kai could answer, Sue said, "I took the liberty of alerting Old Quil that you have been Imprinted on by a Shifter from the Hoh Reservation. Mr. Whitfield is here to be in an audience with Old Quil."

"Mom!" Leah exclaimed flabbergasted.

"Don't worry honey, you will be there too," Sue said easily.

Leah glared at her mother and said, "That's not the point! How could you go ahead and tell Old Quil about Kai?"

"Well I thought he had a right to know. After all, it's not every day that you learn that another Reservation also have spirit Shifters," Sue said. "He is expecting you in fifteen minutes, so best to get a move on."

As Sue left to go to her room, Kai stood from the table and walked over to his irate Imprint. He gently placed his hands on Leah's shoulders and said, "Easy, Leah."

Leah spun around to face him and said, "She had no right! She could've just left this alone and let me enjoy your company in peace. She could have waited until I was ready to let the Elders know about you, but no! She can't even do that!"

"Are you ashamed of me?" Kai asked seriously.

Surprised at the seriousness of his tone, Leah answered, "No, of course not. I'm not ashamed of you, Kai. It's just that I've had so many bad experiences with relationships that I wanted to wait until I knew for myself that this one was right."

Kai's expression relaxed and he smiled, his grey eyes shining with affection for Leah. He hugged her close and whispered, "It will all be fine, you'll see. And I have no intention of letting you go, Leah. You're stuck with me and you won't be able to get rid of me."

Leah blushed as Kai kissed her forehead and mumbled, "Not like I would want to anyway."

The bear Shifter grinned at the she wolf's statement before taking her hand in his, threading their fingers together. He lifted their joined hands and kissed Leah's fingers before leaning down to attempt to kiss her lips. Kai had been trying to do that ever since Leah willingly kissed him, but she always evaded him. However he was pleasantly surprised when Leah's lips pushed against his in a soft kiss before pulling away.

Grey eyes stared down into brown for a while before Leah said, "Come on, let's go see what the old man wants. Honestly, he should be in the ground by now."

Kai chuckled as he followed after his Imprint, ready to fight for his right to be with Leah if need be.

* * *

Jane held tightly onto Seth as he rode the motorbike all through La Push. She couldn't help but look around the community in awe, nodded to the people that waved at them. Before long Seth slowed down at the edge of First Beach before stopping completely. After killing the engine to the bike they both got off of it and walked out onto the sand of the beach.

Seth reached over and took Jane's hand into his, holding onto her pale hand firmly. Jane blushed and smiled as they walked along the beach in silence. Now to other people they looked like a young couple in young live, but to them it was more like really affectionate friends on their way to becoming a couple. And with Jane being fourteen and Seth fifteen, it was already decided that they wait until Jane turned fifteen before officially becoming an item. Also, it would give them time to grow as young people and explore their feelings for each other, even though Seth already had a jump on that because of the Imprint, but Jane needed some more time.

They stopped walking and stared out at the ocean for a bit before Seth said, "Jane, I want to ask you something."

"Yes, Seth?" Jane said, letting the young Shifter know he had her attention.

"You're not just hanging around me because of my Imprinting on you, are you?" Seth asked nervously.

Jane turned her blue eyes on the tan boy before answering truthfully, "No, I'm not. I truly enjoy your company and friendship, Seth Clearwater. I understand I am supposed to fall in love with you because I am your destined mate, as what Bella has explained to me. But right now I truly do like being around you. You are really the only friend outside of Bella, Jacob, and your sister that I have and I treasure you, now more than ever because I had no one in the Volturi I could call a friend."

Seth stared down at Jane for a moment as he let her words sink in. It warmed him to know that she wasn't just with him because of the Imprint that joined them together. Jane truly just wanted his friendship at the moment and he was happy to give it. Grinning he pulled her into a tight hug and said, "I'm glad to be your friend too, Jane."

Jane blushed and smiled as she wrapped her arms around Seth's muscular-like body. The two of them stood and hugged each other for a few minutes before Jane poked Seth in his side, letting him know that she wanted to be let go. Seth let go of the light brunette and asked her if she wanted to go into town and hang out there. When Jane nodded he took her hand and guided her back towards his bike, dead set on going to Forks to spend more time with his Imprint. Unbeknownst to Seth, Jane was very happy to be spending more alone time with her happy go lucky Shifter.

* * *

Leah couldn't stop her leg from bouncing as she sat next to Kai in Old Quil's home. She and Kai had been there for thirty minutes already and had explained their situation to the Elder, and now she was ready to leave, regardless of whether the old man approved or not. Kai reached over and gently held Leah's hand in his bigger one, giving it a reassuring squeeze. This relaxed Leah for a moment and she sat and waited impatiently for Quil's grandfather to speak.

Old Quil regarded the two youngsters in front of him in silence, looking back and forth between them. He truthfully had never known that the Hoh Reservation had Shifters of their own, but he was certainly interested in learning more from their Elders. However he had never heard of a Quileute Shifter being Imprinted _on,_ rather than doing the Imprinting themselves, but then again there had never been a female Shifter and Leah defied the odds of that, so he shouldn't be surprised.

Coming to a decision Old Quil said, "Leah, the gods have allowed this young man to Imprint on you for a reason. I believe this reason is to bring the Quileute and Hoh Reservations together and your future union will do just that."

Leah flushed at the implication that she and Kai would be married in the future while Kai grinned brightly at the thought. He could already see Leah dressed in a white dress and walking down the aisle towards him. Of course that wouldn't happen unless he could convince Leah to be his girlfriend, which he was still currently working on.

Old Quil nodded and said, "Young man, you should know that Leah can be a handful, especially now that she is the first woman spirit wolf we've ever had. But if you can prove yourself to handle her, not only as a Shifter in your own right, but as a man worthy of her, she is yours."

"I'm not some sort of possession, you old fart. Just slip on the banana peel already," Leah said, crossing her arms.

"Leah," Kai reprimanded. "I know you don't want to be here and be subjected to this, but show some respect. He is your Elder, you know."

Leah rolled her eyes and said, "That doesn't mean that I want him in my business. He only sees this as a spirit animal thing instead of an actual relationship thing; he doesn't really care."

"He cares about the wellbeing of his tribe and the protectors of it, which you are. It's the same way with my own tribe. They may annoy us but they only do so to give us wisdom and guidance for our own benefit."

"Yeah, but-

"Just know that I'm right and that you are cared for by Mr. Quil, whether you want to know it or not.

Old Quil watched their interaction closely, noting how Kai seemed to take a gentle yet dominant stance over Leah. He was surprised to see Leah submit, though it didn't show on his face while watching the grey eyed boy wrap an arm around the she wolf. Already Kai had unknowingly showed Old Quil what he wanted to see and the Elder had to admit he was impressed. No other young man could get a handle on Leah and he knew that Leah would be in good hands.

The old man gave them his blessing and dismissed them, watching as Leah quickly pulled Kai out of the house. Once the door was closed shut, he threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh. Whatever the gods were doing, they were doing it well.

Outside Leah let out a breath of relief before turning to face Kai. Kai was staring at her in question before asking, "What is it?"

Leah stared back at him for a moment before a smile spread on her face. She took Kai's hand in hers and said, "Let's go get something to eat in Port Angeles."

Kai returned the smile and nodded before pulling Leah towards him and kissing her cheek, chuckling as she spluttered in surprise. He pulled her back to his car and opened the passenger door for her, waiting patiently for her to get inside. Once she was seated and buckled in Kai closed the door and circled back around to the driver's side, a goofy grin on his face as he got ready to go on a date with his potential girlfriend.

* * *

Bella paced her bedroom floor while she waited for Jacob to show up. He had called her about twenty minutes ago and told her that he was on the way, leaving her some time to figure out how she wanted to go about telling Jacob the news. And now twenty minutes later she still didn't know what she was going to do.

A knock from downstairs alerted her that her boyfriend was here before she heard the door open, followed by Jacob's voice calling out, "Bella?"

"U-Up here, Jake!" Bella called back.

The sound of footsteps ascending the stairs was heard before Jacob appeared in the doorway of her bedroom. Jacob smiled and walked over to his girlfriend, enveloping her in a hug before giving her a sweet kiss. Bella instantly relaxed and melted against the seventeen year old. The two of them stood and kissed for a while before Bella pulled away with a gasp, allowing air to return to her lungs.

Jacob chuckled before asking, "How are you feeling today?"

Bella didn't answer for a moment before she said, "I actually found out what's been wrong with me."

"That's good. So what's wrong?"

"You may want to sit down for this, Jake."

Jacob frowned but sat on Bella's bed, waiting for her to tell him what she found out. Bella fiddled her hands nervously for a moment before walking over to her computer desk and picking up the pregnancy test. She held it out for Jacob to take, her hand trembling slightly. Jacob took the white stick from her and looked at it, his brown eyes widening as he read the single word on the screen of the stick.

He opened his mouth to say something but couldn't find any words to say. Finally finding his voice Jacob asked, "Bella is this for real?"

Nodding Bella said, "Yes, it's true. I took it this morning and it just made sense considering everything else I noticed over the past two months. I know you're probably not ready for this sort of responsibility and you already have Pack duties and responsibilities, especially being the Alpha now. I've been wondering if you even want this baby, I mean you're only seventeen. But regardless I want to keep it. I love it already, just like how I love you. We created this because of our love for each other and I think that-

"Bella!" Jacob called out, cutting Bella off in her ramble. He stood from the bed and walked over to his Imprint, placing his hands on her shoulders. Pressing his forehead against hers he said, "Of course I want this baby. I'm happy just knowing that you want it too."

Bella was relieved to hear this, but then she thought of how they were going to be able to provide for their baby. Voicing these thoughts to him, she said, "And on top of that we'll have to tell Charlie and Billy."

Jacob held Bella close and said, "Let's just take everything one step at a time, okay? And there is no reason to be scared, honey. It's a new challenge for us but one that we can accomplish together. It's Jake n Bells, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember," Bella replied, not realizing that her body was relaxing with every word Jacob spoke. He was right, they would conquer this new challenge together and love their child unconditionally as it grew in her womb and when it was born into the world. They would take it one step at a time and take things as they came.

Bella stood on her toes and pressed her lips against Jacob's, humming softly when he moved his lips against hers. The two of them stood there and kissed, lost in their own little world full of love for each other, the life that they created resting in between them inside of Bella.

They were going to face some trials along the way (like telling the parents that they were expecting), and were going to have their hands full later, but as long as they were together, they could do anything. And nothing would stand in their way and no one would tear them apart.

* * *

 **Author's Note: This story is almost finished, guys. The next chapter will be the last one. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Love, SehunsBae37.**


	23. Chapter 23

Struggling to be Honest

JacobxBella

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the franchise, as it belongs to Steph Meyers

Struggling to be Honest

Chapter 23

 _(7 Months Later…)_

Soft lips grazing her neck woke Bella up from her peaceful slumber. Opening her eyes she turned her head and looked up at her boyfriend and love of her life Jacob. Smiling she turned over onto her back, which was rather difficult with her nine month pregnant stomach, before reaching her arms up and saying, "Good morning."

Jacob chuckled and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, lifting her up in a sitting position before hugging her close, replying, "Good morning to you, honey."

Bella smiled and allowed Jacob to kiss her lips before he bent down to her swollen stomach. His large hands rubbed her large stomach before he kissed it through her gown, saying, "Good morning, babies. I hope you slept well."

The smile on Bella's face widened at the Shifter's words and actions. Ever since she had found out she was pregnant, her and Jacob had a few ups and downs with everyone around them, meaning their parents. Nothing too bad, just being talked to more than they would have liked about responsibilities, getting jobs, buying things for the babies, et cetera et cetera. Charlie and Bella both had delayed telling Renee, especially since Bella did not want to have any sort of contact with the woman ever since she insulted Jacob and Bella had slapped Renee. Renee had eventually gotten over her daughter's words and actions and decided to make a trip to Forks to apologize and talk with Bella. However, she was more than surprised to find her only child that she willingly left in the possession of her ex-husband six months pregnant. Renee had promptly passed out after seeing that and didn't wake up until the next day.

Bella could still remember the day that she found out she was having twins. She had been shocked but happy, and was even more so when she found out she was having a boy _and_ a girl. It was like the Quileute gods were making sure her vision came true. She even remembered when she told him about said vision of hers.

 _(Flashback)_

 _"_ _Bella, can you believe it? We're having twins, and one of each gender, too!" Jacob said excitedly as he and Bella left the hospital._

 _Bella smiled and nodded as Jacob wrapped his strong arm around her. Rosalie was waiting to take them to her apartment where they would be living on their own for the time being. Rosalie and Emmett agreed to pay all the bills and such since the apartment lease was in their name, though Rosalie called instant godmother rights when the twins were born. Currently Emmett was moving his and Rosalie's possessions out of the apartment with help from Jasper while the Pack helped move Jacob and Bella's things into the apartment. Jane and Alice were helping to set up the room that would belong to the twins while Esme was in the kitchen cooking a meal for them to eat later with food for the Pack when they were done._

 _The brunette thought about the vision she had about the two children that were obviously hers and Jacob's. Now it was coming true and she felt the need to tell him about it. Stopping she said, "Jake, I need to tell you something."_

 _Jacob stopped as well and turned to look at his Imprint, a look of slight confusion on his face when he asked, "What is it?"_

 _"_ _That day on the mountain, when I asked you to kiss me, I had a vision," Bella started. "As soon as you kissed me, I saw a different life from the one that I had decided to choose with Edward. The vision showed me two children, twins to be exact, and one was a boy and the other a girl. They looked like you and they ran off towards you, running away from me. But they did wave and smile at me, beckoning me forward. I realized that that was a future I would have if I chose you instead of Edward, but I didn't realize that I loved you until it was almost too late. But I'm glad that I did because everything seems to be falling into place."_

 _Jacob stared back at Bella in surprise for a moment before swooping down and capturing her lips in a passionate kiss. Bella let out a surprised sound before relaxing and returning the kiss. The two of them stood there kissing before they were interrupted by Rosalie._

 _"_ _Okay, you two. Let's get a move on. Emmett just called and said that they were almost done. You can love and do whatever else when you get to the apartment and everyone else leaves."_

 _(End Flashback)_

"What are you thinking about?" Jacob's voice cut into Bella's thoughts.

Bella looked at her boyfriend and answered, "Oh, just about when I told you about my vision of our twins."

Jacob grinned and gave his love a sweet kiss before saying, "I need to head on to the garage, so I'm going to head on out. Make sure to call someone if your water breaks and make sure to call me."

"Jake, I got it. You've been worrying about my water breaking ever since I entered my ninth month. My water isn't going to break today."

"Bells, you're good at jinxing things. Watch you go into labor today."

"No I won't, silly wolf. Now go on, go make bread."

Jacob shook his head with a smile before kissing Bella once more and leaving out of the bedroom while bidding her goodbye. The sound of the front door of the apartment opening and closing told Bella that her boyfriend had left and she let out a sigh. It was time to start going about her day.

Getting out of bed Bella went to the bathroom and released her bladder before cleaning up, then she washed her hands, her face, and brushed her teeth. After running a brush through her hair she tied it up into a high ponytail before heading back to the bedroom to change her clothes. Pulling on a pair of pregnancy yoga pants and maternity t-shirt that said _'We're two of a kind!',_ She headed towards the kitchen and pulled out all of the ingredients she would need to create a Korean dish known as Kkanpunggi, or spicy garlic fried chicken. Once she had everything laid out on the counter, Bella walked over to the tripod stand where a camera was set up and got it ready to record.

Bella loved cooking and decided to create an online cooking channel that she called _Jake n Bells Kitchen Fun,_ Jacob making appearances when he was able to. She was surprised her edible creations became so popular and so much so on the internet that she was surprised to get a check in the mail one day for it. That had only been four months ago, and before Bella knew it she was an online cooking sensation. Bella also got a lot of requests for cooking certain dishes, and the kkanpunggi was one of them.

Setting the timer to start recording in fifteen seconds, Bella walked back behind the counter and waited for the light on the camera to shine red. Once it did she smiled and waved saying, "Good morning, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of _Jake n Bells Kitchen Fun._ As you know, I'm Bells and today I am going to be making by special request Kkanpunggi, or spicy garlic fried chicken. It's a Korean dish and I can't wait to get started."

Bella easily moved around the kitchen as she spoke and prepared the dish, not once faltering and thoroughly enjoying herself. It wasn't long before Bella had a plate filled with kkanpunggi, which she held up at a slight angle so it would be completely seen by the camera but not fall off of the plate.

"And that's it, you guys. Now normally I would taste it, but as you know I'm pregnant and I get acid reflux easily, so I'm going to forgo it today. I hope you guys enjoyed watching and learning, and I hope you will try and recreate your own version of this Korean dish. Thanks so much and I'll see you next time on the next episode of _Jake n Bells Kitchen Fun._ Bye!"

She smiled and waved at the camera until the recording light went out, letting her know the camera had stopped recording. Bella sighed and set the plate down before walking over to the tripod and turning the camera off; she would upload the video later. Walking back over to the plate of food she created, she decided to pack it and take it to Jacob later for lunch. Doing so she placed the food in a reusable container and put the lid on it before putting it in the microwave. Just as Bella turned around to leave the kitchen, she let out a cry of pain before feeling warm liquid run down her legs. Gripping the counter she whispered, "No, no, no. Not right now."

But it was happening right now. Bella was alone and in labor. Letting out another cry when a contraction hit she, as quickly as she could, left the kitchen and walked back to the bedroom where her cell phone was. Picking it up she sat on the bed and dialed Carlisle's number. The phone rang twice before Carlisle answered, saying, _"Hello, Bella."_

"Carlisle, I'm in labor," Bella panted before groaning as another contraction hit.

 _"_ _How fast do you think you can get to the hospital?"_ Carlisle asked.

Before she could answer the phone was taken from her hand. Looking up Bella was surprised to see Alice, her phone to her ear as Alice said, "I can have her there in no less than five minutes."

Alice hung up the phone and gave it back to Bella before saying, "I saw you going into labor, so I came to help you. Now let's get going."

The pixie like vampire picked up Bella and quickly ran out of the apartment and down the stairs to her car in no less than four seconds. She placed the brunette in the passenger seat of her yellow Porsche before jumping in the driver's seat and zooming out of the parking lot. Just like Alice had said, she arrived with Bella at the hospital in five minutes, Carlisle waiting for them with a nurse and a wheelchair. Carlisle helped Bella out of the car and into the wheelchair where the nurse took her inside the hospital. Bella managed to give her cell phone to Alice and told her to call Jacob before Carlisle wheeled her away to be ready to give birth to her twins.

* * *

Leah stretched as she stood looking out the window of Kai's bedroom. She had stayed the night with him but they didn't have sex. That was something that Kai didn't want from her right away. He said he wanted to wait until a year had passed and their relationship had progressed some more, and Leah was okay with that. Kai had asked Leah to be his girlfriend officially four months ago, wanting to get her consent and not have her oblige just because of the Imprint. Leah agreed to dating the Hoh man officially after taking some serious time to really think about her feelings for him, how he made her feel secure, and if she could really see herself spending the rest of her life with him regardless of the Imprint. When she realized that she could see a life with Kai in her future and that he would love her unconditionally, and realized that she could and would as well, she didn't hesitate to answer. She still smiled when she thought of how Kai had swooped her up in his strong arms and kissed her before happily smiling at her and his grey eyes sparkling.

Muscular arms wrapped around her waist before she was pulled back into an equally muscular chest and a nose buried itself in her neck. Leah smiled as Kai gave her a kiss on the neck before he said, "Good morning."

"Good morning to you, too," Leah replied. She giggled softly as Kai placed more kisses along her neck before she turned around and captured his lips with her own. The two of them stood there kissing for a while before Kai pulled away saying, "I've made breakfast for you. I hope you like pancake and waffles stacks, bacon, sausage, omelets, fruit, and freshly squeezed orange juice."

Leah hummed in approval and nodded saying, "I definitely like fresh squeezed orange juice."

Kai chuckled and kissed Leah once more before taking her hand and leading her to the kitchen table. Halfway down the hall Leah realized she was still wearing the large t-shirt and drawstring shorts (the only pair that would stay up on her hips) that Kai let her borrow to sleep in. She wondered what Julie and Owen would say; she really hoped his parents weren't home. Unfortunately luck was not on her side as she saw Owen pouring himself a cup of coffee and Julie setting plates at the table.

Julie smiled as the couple walked in the room and said, "Good morning, Leah. This is quite the spread that my son has prepared for you. I hope you don't mind that we indulge too, though Kai already said that we could."

"Sure, it's fine," Leah replied with her own smile. "This amount of food could feed both the Pack _and_ the Sleuth."

"Speaking of which, there is a Sleuth meeting being held tonight, son. We understand that you love being with Ms. Clearwater, but don't forget your duties; be there," Owen said in all seriousness, though his eyes held nothing but fondness for his child.

Kai nodded and said, "Yes, dad."

After everyone was seated at the table, Julie said a blessing over the food and they all indulged in the breakfast that Kai had prepared. Leah couldn't help but say it was some of the best breakfast food she had ever tasted. When everyone was finished Owen gave his wife a kiss, ruffled his son's hair, and patted Leah on the shoulder before bidding them farewell and heading off to work. Julie decided to clean up and told Kai and Leah to change clothes and go have fun. The two Shifters couldn't say no to that and did so, both of them getting dressed in Kai's bedroom. The grey eyed man was respectful enough to give Leah the privacy she needed as she changed clothes, making her heart thump a little faster. Once they were both dressed and had their shoes on, they brushed their teeth (Kai finding a spare, unused toothbrush for Leah) and washed their faces before leaving the house, yelling 'goodbye' to Julie.

"Hey, I got to stop by the garage Jake works at. There's something wrong with my car and he said he'd look at it for me. You don't mind, do you?" Leah said as she unlocked her car.

"Nope, not at all. Let's just hope it makes it there before it breaks down on the side of the road," Kai said playfully as they got into the car, yet being very serious at the same time.

Leah lightly hit him in the arm making her boyfriend laugh before starting the engine and pulling away from Kai's home. They left the Hoh Reservation and headed into town, talking about different topics until they reached the garage. The she wolf spotted Jacob shaking the hand of what seemed to be a satisfied customer as she pulled up to the garage right as her car broke down. The car made a rattling sound and smoke began to creep out of the hood of the car. She looked at Kai who was looking back at her, his eyebrows raised as he said, "Hey, at least it broke down already at the shop."

* * *

Jacob shook his head as his Beta and her Alpha boyfriend got out of her car and walked over to him. He greeted Leah with a hug before saying, "I hope you know you won't have your car for about a week, two if the damage on the inside is bad."

"Yes, which is why I have a boyfriend who will take me wherever I want to go," Leah said poking Kai in his side, right over where he was ticklish.

Kai squirmed a bit before nodding and saying, "That's true."

"Dude, I know it's mostly the Imprint along with your actual feelings for Leah, but you are pussy whipped and you guys haven't even had sex yet," Jacob said with an amused grin.

Leah blushed as Kai laughed before saying, "Hey, you'd do the same for Bella if she needed a ride."

Jacob nodded and said, "True, but she also knows she's got other people to call if I can't come to her aid."

"How is Bella? It's almost time for the twins to be born, isn't it?" Kai asked curiously.

An excited grin appeared on Jacob's face before he said, "Yeah, it's almost time. She seems to be doing fine and hasn't had any contractions other than those Jackson Kicks."

"It's Braxton Hicks," the couple said at the same time, a look of slight annoyance on their faces.

Jacob gave them a sheepish smile before taking the keys to Leah's car from her and finished driving the vehicle into the garage. Leah and Kai waited in the waiting area while Jacob and his coworker Larry assessed Leah's car and began working on it. However, they both came to the conclusion that working on the car would take a week or more. Jacob left to go and tell the two waiting about his assessment and wasn't surprised when Leah wasn't too happy about it. Right when he was about to say something else, his cell phone began to ring in his pocket. He excused himself and went to answer it, smiling when he saw Bella's name flash on the screen.

Pressing the 'Talk' button, Jacob said, "Hey Bells."

A giggle that did not belong to his Imprint was heard before the person on the other end of the line said, _"You should hear the amount of love in your voice when you say Bella's name."_

"Pixie," Jacob said curtly.

 _"_ _Jacob, I'm calling you from Bella's phone because Bella's here at the hospital."_

"What?! Why?! Is it time already?!"

 _"_ _She went into labor not long after finishing her cooking video and I brought her here so Carlisle can get her into a room."_

"Bella's in labor?! Why didn't someone tell me?!"

 _"_ _I just did."_

"I'm on my way!"

Jacob hung up his cell phone and looked up to see Kai and Leah standing up in concern. Knowing that they were going to ride along with him he told them to wait while I told his boss he had to leave. Three minutes later the three of them climbed into Jacob's Rabbit and headed down the road towards the hospital. Jacob didn't realize that he was speeding until he heard a police siren and saw red and blue lights in his rearview mirror.

Groaning he pulled over and put the car in 'Park' before looking in his side mirror. The moment he saw who stepped out of the police cruiser he got out himself and yelled, "Charlie!"

Charlie looked surprise for a moment before saying, "Damn it, Jake. You know better than to speeding. Even if your wolf abilities allow you to heal quickly, we don't need you in an accident."

"I know and I'm sorry, but I'm trying to get to the hospital," Jacob said. He was getting ready to explain when he looked back at the cruiser and saw Bella's mom get out on the passenger side. A look of surprise and confusion crossed his features as he looked at the auburn haired woman before looking back at Charlie.

The police chief had the decency to look embarrassed when he noticed Jacob looking between him and Renee. Rubbing the back of his neck he said, "I just picked her up from the airport. She's uh, she's moving back to Forks and moving into the house."

"What's going on?" Renee asked as she stepped forward. She said 'hello' to Jacob before asking her question once again.

"Bella's having the twins!" Jacob blurted.

Charlie and Renee's eyes widened before Charlie told Jacob to follow behind him. Once they were all back in their respective cars, Charlie turned on the police sirens once again and sped through town, Jacob not far behind. Minutes later they arrived at the hospital and parked and the five of them rushed inside. And the whole way Jacob prayed he hadn't missed anything important. He promised Bella he would be there in the room with her when she had their babies and he wasn't going to break that promise.

* * *

Bella let out what seemed like the hundredth groan as another contraction hit. Her contractions were getting closer together and she prayed Carlisle would get the nurses to hurry with preparing the Cesarean for her. Rosalie and Alice were with her currently and the seer had told her that Jasper, Emmett, Jane, and the Pack were on their way. The Pack was especially excited as there hadn't been a child from a true Alpha of the Pack for a while, and now there were going to be two. As much as she appreciated them and their support, the one person she wanted with her at the moment was Jacob.

Rosalie was currently stroking her head comfortingly when she sniffed the air and said with a smile, "I smell a familiar dog coming."

"Jake?" Bella asked breathlessly, her question answered as the door to her room opened and Jacob rushed in, followed by Charlie and Renee. With a smile Bella reached out her hand and said, "You made it; I'm so glad."

"Of course I did, honey. I wouldn't miss this moment for the world," Jacob said taking her hand before giving his Imprint a kiss.

Bella smiled up at him and caressed his cheek before looking over towards her parents. Don't get her wrong, she was happy to see Renee, but she was confused to see her so soon. Renee had told her she wouldn't be able to make a trip to Forks until sometime after the birth of her twins. So why was she here now, not that she minded?

Charlie walked over and asked, "How are you feeling, kiddo?"

The brunette smiled and answered, "I'll feel much better when Thing 1 and Thing 2 are out of my stomach,"

Everyone chuckled while Alice and Rosalie quietly left the room, giving the family some time alone. After they left Bella asked, "What are you doing here, mom?"

Renee bent down and kissed her daughter's forehead before saying, "Hi, sweetie. I know I didn't tell you, but I'm moving back to Forks."

"Huh?"

Renee sighed and a look of sadness crossed her face as she said, "It was after I returned back home after visiting three months ago and finding out you were pregnant. I returned earlier than I had told Phil and I walked in on him…I walked in on him cheating on me with some ginger haired bimbo in our bed. He tried to explain to me that it was nothing but then his little slut piped in and said that they had been seeing each other and sleeping together for the better part of a year. Furthermore she told that she was expecting and that Phil had been planning on divorcing me for about five months, but didn't do so because he wanted to spare my feelings."

"Oh mom, I'm so sorry."

"It's fine, Bella. I filed for divorce and decided to move out, only to realize that I had invested most of my earnings and savings into the house we lived in. But it was actually Charlie who suggested I move in with him."

"Dad?"

Bella and Jacob looked at the police chief in question, watching as he flushed a bit and scratched his cheek. Clearing his throat Charlie said, "Renee had called me and told me everything and I guess I gave her words of comfort. Ever since then we have been talking more and reconnecting so to speak. When she told me that she was looking for a place to move to and couldn't find anything, I told her she could move back here if she wanted. I know she doesn't particularly like it here in Forks, but the house is paid for and she can have your old room since you're not living there anymore."

Jacob smirked and asked, "And is that all?"

Both Charlie and Renee caught on to what Jacob was implying and they both blushed, making Bella's brown eyes widen in surprise. Sitting up, only to lean back down as a contraction hit, she asked, "When you say 'reconnect', do you mean just as friends or like me and Jake?"

Luckily for her parents Carlisle walked in followed by a nurse, preventing them from answering (not like they were going to anyway). He greeted Charlie and Renee and told them that it was time to take Bella to the Cesarean. He and Jacob helped transfer Bella from the bed to the wheelchair to take her just down the hall before asking if Charlie and Renee wanted to be there as well. Charlie declined but Renee agreed, wanting to be there for motherly support. Carlisle nodded and they all left the room, five walking down the hospital corridor one way, one walking the other back towards the waiting room.

* * *

Charlie reached the waiting room and sat in an empty chair next to Billy, who had been brought by Sam when the news of Bella's labor was heard. The police chief let out a sigh and ran his hand through his hair, noticing Billy's eyes trained on him intently.

"What is it, old man?" he asked.

"Are you alright, chief?" Billy asked.

Charlie nodded and said, "I guess so. I just realized that we're about to become grandpas."

Billy nodded and clapped his best friend on his shoulder as he said, "Yes, yes, we are. And do you know what that means?"

"What?"

"It means that you're getting old, old man."

" _I'm_ getting old? What about _you_?"

"I'm forever young."

"'Forever young' looks nothing like you, Billy."

* * *

An hour later Bella was back in the room she was first placed in and was smiling down at her first baby, the boy twin. He was wrapped in a traditional blue blanket and his tiny face was so cute. His skin was a lighter shade of russet than Jacob's, but Bella had no doubt it would darken as he got older. His hair was black with a slight brown hue to it and was so soft to the touch, just like his skin. He was perfect and Bella couldn't believe she had given life to this precious being.

The sound of a baby whining across the room caught her attention and Bella looked up to see Jacob quietly shushing their daughter that was wrapped in the traditional pink blanket. Her daughter was the second born and she was just as perfect as her twin brother. Her skin and hair color was the exact same as her brother's and she had captured Jacob's heart the minute she was placed in his arms.

Jacob looked up at me and grinned before walking over to me with our daughter and sat in the chair next to the hospital bed. Looking at me he whispered as not to wake up the babies, "They are perfect, Bella. They're absolutely perfect."

"Yes, they are. I can't believe that we created two precious beings like these," Bella said in awe.

"You saw this happening, honey. You saw us with our own children one day, twins to be exact. And now here we are holding our twins, the twins that you had a vision about. Honestly Bella, I didn't think something like this would ever happen to me, to us. You were so set on being with that bloodsucker and marrying him, even becoming one of them. It hurt me so bad just to know that; you broke my heart, you know. But I never once thought that me pressing you enough and making you face the situations that you didn't want to would cause you to be completely honest with yourself and with me. And even though a lot has happened in the past, it brought us to where we are now. Nothing could be more perfect than this," Jacob replied.

Bella stared at her boyfriend for a moment before smiling lovingly at him, her brown eyes shining with unshed tears and full of love for the young man in front of her. She had never once imagined when she had moved to Forks, Washington that she would have a future with Jacob. And she never imagined it because she did nothing but imagine a future with Edward for about a good year. She still couldn't believe that it took Jacob disappearing for months, then returning on her wedding day and making her face her decisions to make her finally be honest with herself and make the best decision of her life. She struggled to be honest with a lot concerning Jacob and herself, but she was glad she finally decided to be candid with her feelings.

She bent over a little silently asking for a kiss, which Jacob met her halfway with. They kissed sweetly and lovingly before parting, Bella softly saying, "I love you. I love you so much, Jacob Black."

"And I love you, Isabella Swan," Jacob replied before kissing her lips once more. After he pulled away and looked back down at their daughter in his arms he said, "We have to name them before the family comes in."

They both thought for a while but they came up with the perfect names. Starting with the first born twin they named him Ephraim William Black, and they named the girl Sarah Annabeth Black. And as they waited for their family and friends to meet the new editions of the Swan family, Black family, and Quileute tribe (and godmother Rosalie), Bella and Jacob knew that their lives were only going to get better and they were looking forward to the future.

* * *

 **Author's Note: This is the end of Struggling to be Honest. Thanks so much to everyone that favorited, followed, and read this story. It means so much that you guys enjoyed it. I am very happy with how it turned out and I hope that you all are as well. Once again, thanks so much you guys! XOXO, SehunsBae37.**


End file.
